Ferrovial - Annual Report 2008

Download Report (PDF)

Section menu

Human Rights

You are in:

Human Rights

Ferrovial is committed to supporting and respecting the fundamental, internationally recognized Human Rights, and to ensure that its companies are not complicit in Human Rights violations.

Human Rights 2008 2007 2006 Var 08-07
Investments in OECD countries (%) 100 100 100  
Employees protected by collective bargaining agreements (%) 72.20 73.60 45  
Equal opportunity (perceived)* 65 61 57 6.30%
Fair employee remuneration (perceived)* 65.3 62.5 60.1 4.39%
Proportion of women among new hires (%) 39.41 10.07 ND  
Women in the workforce (%) 35 30 30  
Female executives 415 450 437 -7.78%
Human rights training (hours) 9,645 ND ND  
Employees with human rights training 10,675 ND ND  
Suppliers classified as low-risk with regard to human rights violations (%) 90 100 ND  
Suppliers evaluated in terms of human rights (%) 87 ND ND  
Human rights promotion initiatives (€) 950,558 568,362 ND 67.25%

Ferrovial’s Code of Ethics dictates that “all actions undertaken by the company and its employees shall scrupulously respect the Human Rights and civil liberties enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” The new Whistleblowing Channel allows any employee to report cases of inappropriate conduct or violations of the code. In 2008, no reports were made on Human Rights violations.

As a member of the United Nations Global Compact, Ferrovial has committed itself to support and respect the protection of the fundamental, internationally recognized Human Rights and to ensure that its companies are not complicit in Human Rights violations. This commitment also includes the basic labor rights and values laid out in the Declaration of the International Labor Organization (ILO): freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor, the effective abolition of child labor and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

In 2008, Ferrovial’s Procurement Department approved a new Buyer's code, which requires employees who handle the company’s centralized purchases to verify that suppliers respect the principles of the Global Compact.

The new global corporate risk management system (FRM) covers the risks of human rights violations. The area of compliance risks includes risks due to insufficient or faulty procedures implemented to ensure compliance with the ethical principles that govern the company’s relationship with its employees.

With regard to security staff training, the Manual on Security Duties and Procedures has been expanded with a section on employee regulations in regard to human rights. New instructions on this matter have also been issued to the different security departments.

With regard to the promotion of human rights, Ferrovial has expressed its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals. Along these lines, a project in the Mara region of Tanzania was launched in 2008 to provide access to drinking water for a population of 50,000 individuals. The company also began to study the CEO Water Mandate initiative of the United Nations with a view to endorsing it in 2009.

Thanks to these initiatives, the Realizing Rights initiative recognized Ferrovial as a leading multinational company in terms of its human rights policy.

Commitment

  • To respect, protect and promote Human Rights.

Lines of action

  • Support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed basic Human Rights within its sphere of influence (Global Compact).
  • Improve working conditions to ensure equal opportunities and non-discrimination among employees.
  • Make sure that its companies are not complicit in human rights violations (Global Compact).

Milestones in 2008

  • Procedure for the prevention of workplace harassment.
  • Analysis of Equal Opportunities.
  • Buyer's code.
  • Project for access to drinking water in Tanzania.

2009-2010 Objectives

  • Launch the equal opportunity plan.
  • Include Human Rights clause in centralized purchase agreements.
© Copyright 2009. Grupo Ferrovial In agreement with:

This is an electronic version of the 2008 Annual Report prepared by Grupo Ferrovial S.A. for its stakeholders, which aims to be complete and accurate. The contents of this version can be checked by referring to the print version. A copy of the print version in PDF format is available to download on this web page