OUR PLEDGE TO OUR PEOPLE
At RT Knits, we pledge to improve the lives of our employees by protecting the health and safety of our people, to adhere to the labour legislation of the country, and to ensure a sustainable work environment and practices. We uphold the highest ethical standard in the way we recruit, manage and retain our employees because we are determined to make a positive impact on the lives of our people.
Our vision is to change the image of textile by encouraging our employees to put teamwork, innovation, commitment and customer focus at the heart of everything that they do while at the same time embracing the company’s values namely, respect, inquisitiveness, greatness, happiness and trust (acronymed R.I.G.H.T).
OUR CERTIFICATIONS
Our actions to protect and enhance the working conditions of our employees are testified by the fact that we are currently certified by SEDEX Members Ethical Trade Audit, Initiative for Compliance and Sustainability and Global Organic Textile Standard which are internationally recognised bodies that advocate improvement of the working conditions of employees in the textile sector worldwide. These organisations conduct regular audits to evaluate the extent to which we uphold ethical standards towards our employees. Furthermore, we are audited against individual client’s international standards on a regular basis.
We aim to foster a diverse and inclusive workplace by promoting equal opportunities for our employees. We also recruit talents with different levels of education and with diverse backgrounds.
We respect multiculturality and we do not endorse gender bias, stereotypes or any types of discrimination. Further, we value worker empowerment by giving employees the opportunity to unleash their true potential through challenging teamwork and career progression.
Continuous improvement is part and parcel of our organisational culture because we believe that productivity is a moving target which is a prerequisite to adapt to this ever-changing world. As such, our performance driven and teamwork culture helps us in making incremental progress every day.
Throughout this continuous improvement journey, we promote teamwork, coaching, learning and development across the company so that we develop our knowledge base. It is worth pointing out that we motivate our employees to get involved in sustainability initiatives as we strongly believe in the preservation of our planet.
In addition, we value the contribution of our employees through celebrations and recognition because we believe in the potential of our people. Our employees are also free to voice out their opinions and grievances at any time and we take their feedback seriously.
We invest in our people for the long term instead of adopting a biased approach to employee growth. To this end, we develop training programs and support our employees’ learning journey by helping them identify their training needs and by providing adequate training programmes to enhance their skills set.
We firmly believe in the wellbeing of our employees. That is why we provide a productive work environment to our workforce, and we support sports and cultural activities for them. While doing so, we acknowledge the importance of work-life balance for all our employees so that they maintain their mental health and happiness.
State-of-the-art technologies are omni-present throughout our organisation because we strongly believe that innovation is a game changer in the textile industry. Adapted technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) are leveraged in various areas to help our employees in doing their job better. Besides, we have invested in a Research & Development (R&D) Team to create the next big product and process innovations. Therefore, to keep abreast of these technological changes, we motivate our employees to use technology as an enabler and to embrace these innovations to the fullest.
Our supply chain ecosystem does not only encompass the economic players but also the community or social players which are so vital for our collective success. For this reason, we have developed corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs to bring some warmth and support to the less fortunate. Our CSR initiatives support Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) which advocate youth education, environmental protection, poverty alleviation and the fight against social scourges such as drug addiction and youth delinquency. For instance, in collaboration with an NGO named La Colombe, we recently organised a special lunch, entertainment and offered gifts to needy kids during Christmas time to put a smile on their faces.
It is worth highlighting that throughout its journey, RT Knits has unwaveringly played its role as a responsible corporate citizen because we believe that we have a duty towards society in its quest to promote education, protect the environment and eradicate social ills such as poverty and drug addiction among others.
Besides, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mauritius, RT Knits engineered a high-quality reusable fabric type of masks to offer maximum comfort, breathability and protection. In a short span of time, our face masks became very popular as a result of which, we decided to donate face masks to several NGOs to help the country in facing this pandemic. In the same vein, we made food donations to several organisations to help the deprived groups of people.
The way we manage our human resources is documented in well-established policies which include Occupational Safety and Health Policy, Discrimination Policy, Child Labour Policy, Freedom of Association and Harrassment Policy. Moreover, we ensure that all our employees are treated with fairness through our Renumeration Policy, Grievance & Disciplinary Policy, Gender Equality Policy and Whistle Blowing Policy. To promote standard practices, policies are supported by clear procedures that are communicated to employees.
Mauritius is the 7th country in the world, and the 3rd African country to ratify the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Violence and Harassment Convention which underpins a common framework for action to shape a workplace based on dignity and respect. This convention also underscores the right of everyone to a world free from violence and harassment. Being one of the first countries in the world to ratify this convention is an evidence of the extent to which Mauritius is committed to the protection of its workforce’s human rights and working conditions.