About us
Founded in 1976, CGI is one of the largest IT and business consulting services providers in the world. Operating in hundreds of locations across the globe, CGI helps clients become customer-centric digital organisations. We deliver high-end business and IT consulting, systems integration and outsourcing services, complemented by intellectual property, to support clients in transforming into digital enterprises end to end. CGI works with clients around the world through a unique client proximity and best-fit global delivery model to accelerate their transformation, ensure on-time, within budget delivery, and drive competitive advantage in today’s increasingly digital world.
CGI is committed to high ethical standards in all aspect its operations. We provide safe and fair working conditions and promote responsible management of environmental and social issues. As a major UK employer with over 5000 employees and hundreds of suppliers, we recognise our responsibility to encourage and support sustainable business practices as well as facilitate inclusion and diversity amongst our suppliers.
Our approach to combatting slavery
CGI recognises that slavery is both illegal and unacceptable. As a services organisation where most of our workers are highly skilled and directly employed by our organisation, we consider the risk of modern slavery within CGI’s own organisation to be low.
However, in order to operate efficiently and provide reliable services for our clients, we work with third parties, such as suppliers and contractors. We recognise that removing modern slavery entirely from the supply chain presents challenges for many businesses such as CGI. The processes outlined in this statement demonstrate how we manage these challenges.
Supply Chain
Like many global organisations, CGI has a very large number of suppliers to support it in delivering the highest possible service to our clients. In the UK, during 2017 we had approximately 1300 active suppliers. Of these, 0.2% of our suppliers are based in “high risk” countries, identified by the Walk Free Global Slavery Index as at risk from human rights abuses. These suppliers represent less than 0.3 % of our total spend with suppliers.
Supplier Management
Responsible supply chain management continues to be a key part of CGI’s supplier process.
Since our last statement, CGI globally has implemented an additional procurement process to mitigate the risk of slavery in our supply chain. As each new supplier is added an initial review and a materiality rating checklist are completed. The rating covers the supplier’s type of operation, number of employees and location of business operations: all of which are key indicators of potential risks of slavery. If any potential ethical or labour concerns are raised during this review, an additional assessment is undertaken by a third party sustainability agency. This assessment includes a detailed review of a wide range of sustainability indices, including questions regarding labour practices and modern slavery. Suppliers must also provide detailed evidence of their approach to human rights and slavery in the form of policies and reports. The agency also verifies its assessments against other evidence, such as labour assessment reports, news articles and other information from externally available sources. Once obtained, the procurement team are able to make an informed decision about whether or not to proceed with adding the supplier to our approved supplier list.
As part of our diligence process for new suppliers and supply contract renewals, suppliers are requested to sign CGI’s Labour, Health and Safety and Environmental standards and CGI’s Third Party Code of Ethics. Suppliers’ acknowledgement of these standards is documented through their completed Supplier Business Profile. CGI’s Third Party Code of Ethics has been recently updated to reflect CGI’s best practices and expectations on supplier conduct to ensure that our suppliers are aligned with our vision and goals. It contains requirements with regard to minimum wage, safe working conditions and internationally recognised labour standards, including forced labour.
CGI expects its suppliers to meet high standards regarding human rights, the environment and employment issues. To that end, CGI’s Third Party Code of Ethics aims to provide suppliers with the appropriate guidance to make informed business decisions while working with CGI.
In addition, CGI’s UK standard terms and conditions of purchase make specific reference to human trafficking and slavery laws, to remind CGI’s suppliers that any subsequent subcontractor agreements should also comply with anti-human trafficking and slavery legislation.
Risks to CGI
With a skilled workforce, largely directly employed by our organisation, we consider the biggest risks to be outside our organisation. The highest potential exposure to slavery and forced labour is likely to be in the following areas:
- Maintenance of our buildings – carried out by construction and property maintenance third parties
- Supply chain – manufacturing of technology hardware
As part of the mitigation of these risks, we have worked closely with the suppliers and contractors who work with us in these areas. We are undertaking detailed external sustainability assessments and providing evidence to an external agency to ensure they comply with human rights. We have set an objective to complete all of the assessments of identified higher risk suppliers in our UK supply chain by the end of our 2019 financial year.
Relationships with our employees (“Members”)
CGI employees are known as ”Members” to reflect that they are not only employees or workers but also are participants in the business and contribute to its success. All Members are required to acknowledge that they have read and understood CGI’s Code of Ethics, in the form of the “Member Commitment” in which (among other aspects relating to business conduct and governance) Members agree to treat all persons with respect and integrity.
This is supported by CGI’s ISO 9001-certified Member Partnership Management Framework (MPMF), which governs how we manage our Member relationships. We build strong and long-term relationships with our Members through a prescribed set of activities, including new member orientation and integration, performance and career management, Member satisfaction measurement, as well as one-to-one and team meetings. This approach encourages a collective ownership approach to managing Member relationships, increases Member satisfaction and enhances the working environment. It also provides an opportunity to identify any potential human rights issues.
Recruitment
We use only specified, reputable employment agencies to source our new Members and always verify the practices of any new agency we are using before accepting staff from that agency. Specific reference to the Modern Slavery Act has been included in our contractual agreements with all recruitment agencies.
Training and Capacity Building
CGI has communicated regularly to its Members about the Modern Slavery Act, including its definitions of slavery and human trafficking via our Modern Slavery Policy, newsletter and intranet. A training video has also been made available to all CGI Members and contractors to increase the awareness of modern slavery in the UK and to promote the processes should a case of slavery be suspected. We have set a target of 80% of Members to undertake the training by the end of our financial year 2019.
Remedy for victims
Referral for potential adult victims is subject to the individual’s consent and CGI will work with the National Referral Mechanism to support any potential victims to receive Government-funded support and/or CGI support provided on a case-by-case basis.
Reporting and Governance
If a specific case of modern slavery is identified or suspected here in the UK, we advise Members to report it to the police immediately on 101. Where any potential victims are in immediate danger we advise use of the standard 999 emergency number. Managed by an independent organisation, CGI promotes an ethics (whistle-blower) hotline via its Code of Ethics Policy, which is available to all employees, suppliers, clients and members of the public. This may be used to report any concerns or suspicions of human rights abuses and modern slavery within CGI’s operations or those of its suppliers.
The senior management of CGI UK is fully supportive of taking steps to ensure that no modern slavery or trafficking occurs in CGI UK’s operations or those of its suppliers. CGI has appointed David Hodges as Vice President, Contracts and Commercial Management (Legal), to lead CGI UK’s response to modern slavery. David will report any suspected or actual cases of slavery to the CGI UK board of directors and table an annual review of CGI UK’s modern slavery processes and activities at a CGI UK board meeting in February 2018.
This statement is published pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes CGI IT UK Ltd.’s slavery and human trafficking statement for the 2017 financial year.
This statement is approved on behalf of the UK Board of Directors.
Tara McGeehan - UK President & Director of CGI IT UK Limited
See previous statement
