Human Rights

Human Rights Policy

The MOL Group issued its Human Rights Policy statement based on the MOL Group Corporate Principles, Group Vision, and Group Values (MOL CHARTS). The group respects human rights in all business activities based on the items stipulated in the policy statement, and contributes to realizing a sustainable global society.
The policy statement was approved by the Board of Directors on March 31, 2022.

MOL Group Human Rights Policy[229KB]

In addition, we work to communicate the MOL Group human rights policy to our business partners and ask them to conduct their business activities in line with human rights concerns. We also established "Suppliers Procurement Guidelines" that include a human rights perspective. For more information on the Suppliers Procurement Guidelines, please refer to the Responsible Procurement page.

Organizational structure to promote respect for human rights

To promote respect for human rights, mainly the Environment and Sustainability Committee, a subordinate group of the Executive Committee, deliberates issues related to human rights. The committee is chaired by the Representative Director/Executive Vice President and vice-chaired by the Chief Environment Sustainability Officer(CESO). As the responsible organization, the Board of Directors also has supervisory responsibility for human rights initiatives. The Environment & Sustainability Strategy Division implements specific initiatives in cooperation with other concerned divisions.


Human Rights Due Diligence

Overall view of initiatives

The MOL Group will establish a human rights due diligence framework based on "the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights", "the International Bill of Human Rights", "the International Labour Organization Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work" (It provides for the fundamental rights to work, including freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, the prohibition of forced labour, the abolition of child labour and the prohibition of discrimination in employment and occupation.), the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and "the 2006 Convention on Maritime Labour", which stipulates the fundamental right of seafarers to work.

Currently, we conduct human rights due diligence under the supervision and direction of the Environment & Sustainability Committee, which is chaired by the Representative Director/Executive Vice President and vice-chaired by the Chief Environment Sustainability Officer(CESO). We will proceed with a document-based survey and on-site interviews to grasp the current situation regarding human rights issues in our value chains and further enhance our initiatives toward improvement.

Human Rights Risk Assessment

Starting in FY2022, MOL identifies human rights risks that should be taken into account when conducting the group's business, based on advice from external experts and international indicators including country-specific human rights risks. We conducted risk assessments through desk analysis with the relevant business divisions, based on the stakeholders that may be affected. As a result, we have identified "Shipping (Seafarers)" and "Logistics" as business fields we will prioritize in future investigations. In the future, we plan to conduct more detailed surveys to pinpoint the risks, in consideration of the human rights issues assumed in each business.

Major human rights risks by identified business field

Business Shipping Logistics
Main stakeholders that
may be affected *1
Seafarers Employees, subcontractors
Main human rights risks
that may arise *2
  • Inadequate occupational health and safety
  • Unreasonable working hours
  • Harassment and abuse
  • Insufficient/unpaid wages
  • Violation of rights specific to seafarers
    Violation of seafarers' rights to be repatriated
    Abandonment of seafarers
    No change of crewmembers
    Violation of seafarers' health and welfare
    Violation of seafarers' rights of access to medical care
    Lack of protection of seafarers from crime
etc.
  • Inadequate occupational health and safety
  • Unreasonable working hours
etc.
  • *1  Employees, business partners, local communities, etc. (including employees of business partners, direct and indirect employees, women, children, indigenous peoples, immigrants, etc.) are considered.
  • *2  35 items, including forced labor, child labor, human trafficking, harassment and abuse, discrimination, violations of freedom of association and collective bargaining rights, equal pay for equal work, and violations of the rights of indigenous and local people, are considered.

For more information about MOL Group activities to identify and reduce sustainability risks, including human rights across the value chain, please visit the Responsible Procurement page.

Human rights Education

MOL holds position-specific human rights and harassment training programs every year. These programs are designed to provide a deeper understanding of not only legal compliance related to human rights and harassment of course, but also relevant systems and actual events including background issues, such as how people are affected by human rights abuses and harassment, with the aim of creating a foundation for responsible actions by all MOL Group employees. In addition, these programs are intended to help employees act as good citizens, not only in corporate activities, but also in their everyday lives.

Human rights training programs

We provide rank-specific training programs for managers, general employees, and new employees to prevent various human rights violations. In FY2022, we explained the newly formulated human rights policy to ensure that all employees are aware of and comply with the contents of the policy.

Harassment prevention training programs

We also provide two training programs on harassment, one for managers and the other for general employees.
In FY2022, we presented a program for general employees based on the theme that "Each individual’s awareness of harassment and behavior create a comfortable workplace."

For those in managerial positions, we presented lectures on laws related to harassment, criteria for judging power harassment (the difference between power harassment and instructions), and the risks of letting harassment go unchecked. We also held group sessions in which we encouraged participants to consider appropriate responses based on actual cases of harassment to make the training program content more effective.


Dialogue with stakeholders

Participating in the 2022 Stakeholder Engagement Program

MOL participated in eight stakeholder engagement programs from May 19 to July 14, 2022, sponsored by the non-profit organization Japan Committee of the Caux Round Table.
The program is designed to discuss a wide range of human rights issues with companies from various industries, NPOs and NGOs, academics, and experts, to provide opportunities for companies to understand and put into practice the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Last year's discussion focused on the impact on business and measures taken in response to suspected state-sponsored human rights violations, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and other situations involving national governments, regardless of industry.
With transportation and logistics companies participating in the program, we worked to identify "key human rights issues for each industry" using a tool developed by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) to deepen their understanding of human rights issues in transportation and logistics.
See below for the final report.

Stakeholder Engagement Program Final Report
「Most Urgent Human Rights Issues by Industry (the 11th edition)」 (in Japanese only)


Initiatives for individual human rights issues

Prevention of child labor and forced labor

We do not engage in child labor or forced labor, and carry forward initiatives aimed at preventing such abuses. In particular, in terms of preventing child labor, we conduct recruitment activities in compliance with the Labor Standards Act and thoroughly implement the initiatives by confirming the age of employees by means of ID cards, etc., at the time of hiring. We also believe it is important to educate our employees and provide human rights training programs including education on child labor and forced labor.
In consideration of initiatives in our value chain, when selecting a ship recycling yard to dismantle an end-of-life ship, we actually conduct on-site interviews and inspections of recycling yards and confirm that they make sufficient efforts to ensure human rights such as eliminating child labor and forced labor.

Initiatives related to wages

The MOL Group ensures compliance with labor laws, including minimum wages in each country where we do business. We have also established a competitive wage structure that not only exceeds national and local minimum wage levels, but also guarantees a living wage allowing employees to work with peace of mind, and is necessary to secure highly qualified personnel.
Furthermore, we apply a unified compensation system for the same qualifications and the same job level.

Actions on LGBTQ issues

We strive to create a comfortable working environment for LGBTQ (sexual minorities). We provide training programs to prevent unintentional harassment due to discrimination or lack of understanding, and renovations are underway at the Head Office to build more LGBTQ-friendly facilities.

Reduction of Overtime Work

The MOL Group strives to optimize working hours from the perspective of preventing physical and mental health problems among employees.
For more information on our measures, please see the section "Health and Productivity Management: Reduction of Overtime Working Hours." We have taken various measures to reduce overtime work.


Remedy Program

Complaint handling mechanism

The MOL Group provides several report and contact desks to promptly cope with concerns related to human rights.
For details, please visit Compliance page.

For group employees Compliance Advisory Service Desk (Internal/External)
Harassment Advisory Service Desk (Internal/External)
For customers, business partners,
and external stakeholders
Contact Us > Compliance

Support for International Initiatives

Participating in the UN Global Compact

The Global Compact emblem

With business activities spread across the globe, the MOL Group believes that building good relationships with various stakeholders worldwide and contributing to the realization of sustainable growth of society are vital as it seeks to realize the ideas set forth in the MOL Group Corporate Principles. In order to contribute to an international framework for realizing these goals, MOL became the first Japanese shipping company to participate in the United Nations Global Compact in 2005. Since then, MOL has worked to support and practice the 10 principles in 4 areas of the UN Global Compact, which shares the same values as MOL's Rules of Conduct, which were established as a set of guidelines for executives and employees.


10 Principles of the Global Compact

Human Rights
Principle 1 : Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
Principle 2 : make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
Labour
Principle 3 : Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
Principle 4 : the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;
Principle 5 : the effective abolition of child labour; and
Principle 6 : the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Environment
Principle 7 : Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges
Principle 8 : undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
Principle 9 : encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
Anti-Corruption
Principle 10 : Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

Fundamental Rights of Workers

MOL participates in the United Nations Global Compact, supporting universal principles regarding human rights and labor and putting them into practice. In addition, the treaty concerning the Maritime Labor Convention in 2006 (MLC2006), which stipulates the basic rights of crewmembers, sets forth the following four acts regarding human rights:

  • Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
  • The elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor;
  • The effective abolition of child labor; and
  • The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Our vessels adhere to onboard compliance guidelines, respect the four human rights as mentioned above, prohibit discrimination by religion, nationality, age, and gender, and establish procedures to address complaints of harassment. They also hold monthly onboard compliance committee meetings to implement and evaluate efforts on human rights issues, discrimination, and harassment through dialogues between crewmembers and onboard compliance officers.

Modern Slavery Statement

MOL has published its latest "Modern Slavery Statement" pursuant to Section 54 (1) of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015.

MOL Group Declaration of Harassment Prevention

The MOL Group strives to provide an innovative workplace where all employees can maximize their own enthusiasm, skills, physical and emotional well-being, and vitality. Therefore, a work environment where everyone can enjoy mutual respect and value one another is indispensable. Harassment harms the dignity of anyone in the company and damages the entire workplace, and absolutely must not occur here.

The Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Group will take the following measures to promote the creation of healthy and dynamic workplaces free from harassment.

  • We will foster an organizational culture in which each and every employee on land and at sea, will respect each other regardless of position and will be able to freely and energetically demonstrate diverse individuality, values, and viewpoints.
  • Employees and the Company will work together to build an organizational culture that enhances knowledge and awareness of harassment prevention and deters or stops any form of harassment.
  • We shall establish a system in which anyone can feel safe about reporting harassment issues, and in the event of harassment, we shall take fair and appropriate measures in a resolute manner and establish an organizational structure to prevent recurrence.

Established in December 2020