OREANDA-NEWS. Tata Steel was awarded the SA  8000 certification for the fourth time, thereby re-affirming its position  as a socially responsible corporate body. The Social Accountability-8000  Management System Certificate was awarded by a Norwegian Det Norske  Veritas (DNV) Foundation to Tata Steel for complying with best practices  of management for three years. Tata Steel has gone through three cycles of  certification in 2004, 2007,2010 and now in 2013.

Labour well-being and corporate social responsibility have been integral to Tata Steel’s business philosophy.  Its continuing commitment to creation of decent working conditions is guided by  our Founder’s vision and a history of pioneering practices that went on to  become the law of the land, such as the 8 hour working day (1912), free medical  aid (1915) and workers’ provident fund scheme (1920) to cite a few examples.

The presentation ceremony was held  at the Board Room of General Office, Tata Steel at Jamshedpur. Mr.  PrakashTikare, Country Manager, India, DNV,Mr  PrasunKundu, Chief Auditor  from DNV, presented the certificate jointly to  Mr H M Nerurkar, Managing  Director, Tata  Steel, Mr P.N Singh, President, Tata Workers’ Union and Mr  Sunil Bhaskaran, Vice  President (Corporate Services), Tata Steel and  Management Representative for SA 8000Management Review Committee and Member,  Advisory Committee, Social Accountability International, New York, U.S.A

Mr Nerurkar in his speech  congratulated the employees and the entire team of SA-8000 for helping to  achieve this feat.  He said that the scope and boundaries must expand  and we must overcome our challenges which are posed by recent social and  economic conditions prevailing in the country w.r.t industries. He announced  that suggestions made by the auditing team of DNV are being considered and  deliberated upon and implementations of which, will be seen over the  period of time.

Mr P.N Singh said that Tata Steel  achieved the certification due to the Joint Consultation and harmonious  relationship between the Union and the management and such certification  bestows more responsibility to perform and deliver according to the  international standards. He added that Union is also taking proactive measures to popularize the best practices in work ethics, safety and welfare schemes.

Mr PrakashTikare of DNV congratulated  Tata Steel for achieving this feat and said that this certification is a  beginning and not an end, therefore the journey shall continue to perform best  in the industry. He also emphasised that the scope and boundary must go beyond  the limits of the Works.

Mr Sunil Bhaskaran, Vice President  (Corporate Services), Tata Steel and Management Representative for SA  8000 Management Review Committee, said that Tata Steel in the future, in compliance with all existing standards would also focus on the service areas  and has already implemented feedback received out of various audits. Also, the SA8000 standard would require to be better communicated to the  contractors, suppliers and vendors.