Code of Good Practices for the Prevention of Sexual Harassment, Gender-Based Harassment and Harassment at Work of Grupo Martínez Bierzo

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Article 14 of the Spanish Constitution proclaims the right to equality and non-discrimination on grounds of sex.

Equality between women and men is a universal legal principle recognized in various international human rights texts, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, approved by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1979 and ratified by Spain in 1983. In the same context, it is appropriate to recall the progress made by monographic world conferences, such as Nairobi in 1985 and Beijing in 1995.

Equality is also a fundamental principle in the European Union. Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam on 1 May 1999, equality between women and men and the elimination of inequalities between them has been an objective that must be integrated into all the policies and actions of the Union and its members.

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By strictly complying with these standards, we demonstrate in national practice and as members of a global organization, the values that identify our person and our business group, reaffirming our commitment to exemplary ethical and legal behavior.

This commitment does not start at the present time, nor does it obey a normative development, but is part of our current Code of Conduct, which already establishes the ethical framework on which our decisions as individuals and as members of an international organization must be based. For this reason, we incorporate it herein, as an annex and reference for its topicality, validity and complementarity, maintaining the communication channel (Ethics Hotline) as an additional means to raise especially sensitive ethical issues.

Although for years we have been demanding ourselves total responsibility in our conduct and a commitment to the development of our values, our permanent concern to ensure excellent working conditions forces us to continuously guarantee our priority objective: the total absence of harassment practices in any of its manifestations, as a mechanism to control scrupulous compliance with our principles and current legislation.

To this end, we intend to provide practical guidance to all employees of the Grupo Martínez Bierzo on the protection of the dignity of women and men at work, ensuring that we have the most appropriate procedures in place to prevent this type of problem from arising.

Sexual harassment is any behaviour, verbal or physical, of a sexual nature that has the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in particular when it creates an intimidating, degrading or offensive environment.

Harassment on the basis of gender is any behaviour based on a person’s gender, with the purpose or effect of violating their dignity and creating an intimidating, degrading or offensive environment.

What distinguishes sexual harassment from friendly behavior is that the former is unilateral and unwanted, and the latter voluntary and reciprocal, with each individual having the free choice to accept or reject it as offensive. Consequently, it seems reasonable that, except in extreme cases, an unintended sign of such conduct on the part of the addressee should be appropriate in order to undo any misunderstanding or ambiguity in this regard.

Moral harassment at work is understood as a situation in which a person or group of people plays psychological violence on another person or persons in the workplace, in order to destroy them personally or professionally, creating a hostile work environment or environment. This violence must be systematic or habitual, that is, it is immersed in a process and it is not a single act, however serious and intense it may be. Harassment can be work-related or non-work-related, but it must occur in the workplace.

Excluded from the concept of moral harassment at work are those interpersonal conflicts that are transient and localized at a specific time, which may occur within the framework of human/professional relations, and which affect the requirement of a good organization of work and its development, but which do not have the purpose of destroying personally or professionally the parties involved in the conflict.

We all therefore have the right to be treated with dignity and also the obligation to scrupulously observe this declaration and to ensure that our colleagues are treated with respect and dignity.

Each officer should pay attention to and support any staff member in charge who complains of harassment, maintaining the confidentiality of the case and ensuring that no new situations arise, and that retaliation is not taken once the complaint has been addressed.

In terms of training, this subject will be included in the content of the training programs given to employees in the field of Occupational Risk Prevention. With regard to all those people within the Grupo Martínez Bierzo who have any official function or task within the framework of the formal procedure for protection against harassment, they will receive specific training in this regard.

In the event that an employee is a victim of harassment in any of its forms, the primary objective must be to achieve the cessation of this conduct as quickly and effectively as possible. To do this, we have two methods of conflict resolution, the informal method and the formal or reporting method.

i) Informal problem solving

The informal procedure should be used at first to try to solve the situation directly between the parties or through an intermediary, because in some cases, it may be possible and sufficient for the employee to clearly explain to the person who shows the unwanted behavior that such behavior is not well received, that it is offensive or uncomfortable, and that interferes with other’s work.

In the event that the person finds it too difficult or violent to do this personally, he or she can seek advice from a “confidential advisor” from among those appointed by the Grupo Martínez Bierzo (see section ii) or ask them to take the first steps. In this phase, the aim is to solve the problem in an agile and dialogue-based manner. It is a question of dispelling misunderstandings, providing guidelines for action and proposals that seek to put an end to the conflict and prevent it from reoccurring in the future.

ii) Confidential advice and assistance

The Grupo Martínez Bierzo has appointed the following persons as “confidential advisors”:

• Javier Luis Balboa Garcia jbg@martinezbierzo.com
• Cinthia Carrete Amigo cca@martinezbierzo.com
• Rodrigo Garcia Scheredre rgs@martinezbierzo.com

These individuals are responsible for providing assistance and advice to the harassed employee, and where possible, with the role of helping to resolve any issues, either informally or formally.

These persons have been designated because of their adequate training on the best way to solve problems and on the details of the policy and procedures of the Grupo Martínez Bierzo, so that they can carry out their task effectively given that they have the necessary resources for the proper performance of this function and sufficient guarantees of protection against the reprisals to which they could be subjected for helping any victim harassment in any of its manifestations. Even so, other mediators can also be called in who may in some cases be more reassuring or offer greater confidence. To this end, we suggest, but not limited to:

– Technicians Responsible for the Prevention Service of Grupo Martínez Bierzo.
– Most Trusted HR Technician.
– Area managers.

These mediators will be the ones who will channel and expose the conflict to any of the people designated by the Grupo Martínez Bierzo as “confidential advisors”, and must maintain the confidential nature of the matter at all times.

When the “confidential advisor” becomes aware of a conflict, he will summon the parties involved to a meeting in which they will try to find a solution to the problem by trying to objectify the situation and determine the measures for its solution, as well as the monitoring and compliance with the effectiveness of the agreed measures. This meeting must be held within a maximum period of 10 working days from the day following the knowledge of the conflict and will aim to seek a solution through direct dialogue between the parties. The “confidential advisor” will issue a report on the incident, which will include at least the solution adopted, and must maintain the confidential nature of the matter at all times.

If the person’s unlawful behavior persists, or if it is not appropriate to resolve the problem informally, the formal procedure must be followed, which will also govern the confidentiality of the case.

iii) Formal procedure

Where the victim of harassment considers that attempts to resolve the problem informally are not advisable, where attempts at informal settlement have been rejected, or where the outcome has been unsatisfactory, the formal procedure shall be used.

This procedure will be initiated by means of a written statement signed by the possible harassed person, or person who has well-founded knowledge of the harassment because they are in their work environment. The document shall include the facts or conduct in a detailed manner which, in the opinion of the person who files it, constitute moral harassment, sexual harassment or harassment based on sex. The main purpose of this requirement is to try to avoid the repeated narration of the facts by the injured party, given the discomfort that normally derives from it.

The submission of the letter will be made to any of the persons designated as “confidential advisor” (see section ii), either personally or through the mediation of any person from Grupo Martínez Bierzo in whom the potential harassed person places his/her trust. Any written submissions received will be treated with due seriousness and promptness by the “confidential advisor”.

iv) Research

Once the letter referred to in the previous section has been received, the investigation phase will begin. The investigation will be carried out through the constitution of a commission for this purpose, which will be constituted by the “confidential advisor” who has received the complaint and, at its discretion, by the number of confidential advisors that the seriousness of the case advises, from among those appointed by the Grupo Martínez Bierzo (see point ii).

Investigations will be supervised under the principles of respect for the person who presents the complaint as well as the person who is the subject of the complaint, as well as under independence, objectivity, contradiction and strict confidentiality. Investigators may not have any affective or professional dependency with the parties and, if it is necessary to question witnesses, the importance of confidentiality must be stressed as much as possible.

The investigation must last as long as it is strictly necessary, but never more than 20 calendar days, unless extraordinary circumstances so require. In any case, the precautionary measures deemed appropriate may be taken during this period, without these being presumed guilty on the part of the accused.

The investigation shall focus on the facts, it shall be set out in written records, and written minutes of all meetings and investigations conducted shall be kept.

Within 1 month of the initiation of the investigations, unless the extraordinary circumstances of the incident require a longer period of time, the “Committee of Investigation” shall issue a report, indicating whether, in its opinion, there has been harassment, as well as, where appropriate, the means of proof used and the measures proposed to solve the problem, determining the persons to whom it corresponds the application of these.

The designated person or the investigation committee, as the case may be, together with the Joint Prevention Service of the Grupo Martínez Bierzo, will periodically control and review all situations of harassment that have occurred and how they have been resolved, in order to ensure that the procedures are effective. They may also agree on the possibility of offering assistance support for this purpose.

v) Disciplinary faults

Any infraction of the Policy and principles for the protection of the dignity of any of the employees of the Grupo Martínez Bierzo due to sexual harassment, harassment based on gender or moral harassment, will be considered as a breach of discipline for improper behavior at work.

The following shall also constitute a misdemeanor against discipline for improper behavior at work:

– the false complaint made in bad faith because there has been no harassment, in any of its manifestations

– persecution or retaliation against the employee who makes a harassment complaint in good faith

In all these cases, and as long as there is conclusive evidence of the alleged facts, the management of the Grupo Martínez Bierzo may proceed with the corresponding disciplinary sanction in accordance with current labor legislation; it may result from a simple verbal reprimand to the termination of the employment relationship due to disciplinary dismissal. When facts are accepted as proven and it is considered necessary to transfer or transfer one of the parties, the management of the Grupo Martínez Bierzo must allow, where possible, the person who has filed the complaint to decide whether he or she wishes to remain in his or her post or to be transferred.

Even if a complaint is not accepted because the evidence is not considered conclusive, the management of Grupo Martínez Bierzo will assess the possibility of a transfer or reorganization of the work of one of the affected employees to prevent them from continuing to work together against the will of both parties.

This Code will be disseminated by e-mail to all employees of the Grupo Martínez Bierzo and will remain published on its intranet so that it can be consulted permanently by any employee.