EDC is committed to upholding and protecting human rights at all levels of the organization. We exert efforts to ensure that the rights of our people are respected and protected. These rights include the right to a safe workplace and protection from unjust practices. We assess our operations, including investment agreements and contracts, for potential risks or impacts on human rights.

We are also dedicated to protect our labor force and promote employee rights with our network of suppliers. We only engage with legal contractors who comply with labor laws and have no labor or human rights cases. The terms and conditions of our contracts require that our independent contractors strictly abide by all applicable laws governing labor, employment, and contracting.

Our contractors must fulfill all their legal obligations to their personnel. These include the provision of compensation, wages and or fees, and all mandatory benefits related to labor, social security, health, and taxes. We require our business partners to submit an affidavit of compliance with minimum wage and other government-mandated benefits, such as SSS and PhilHealth. Additionally, as part of our requirements for vendor accreditation, vendors classified under contracting/subcontracting are required to submit a copy of Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) certification (e.g., DO174, Certificate of No Pending Case).

EDC provided better access to HR services and information. By adapting relevant HR technologies through a third-party vendor, we supported the EDC leadership in decision-making. This enabled us to capitalize on data for enhanced employee experience and seamless execution of HR Shared Services (HRSS) processes. This includes an HR Database Management platform that delivers solutions to our employees. Through these initiatives, the EDC HR department enforced policies and guidelines, and managed inherent risks in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and manpower costs. In 2021, the success of these activities was reflected in the full SLA compliance, on-time service deliveries, and zero data privacy breach incidents. All of these underscore EDC’s effective vendor management that values people.