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.