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YTY Accelerates EFC Reimbursement Payments on Humanitarian Grounds
- Tuesday, June 1, 2021
YTY is pleased to announce its decision to accelerate payouts to blue collar employees from foreign countries (“EFC’s”) for fees charged to them by employment agents during their recruitment process so as to conclude the process entirely in June 2021.
The previously announced EFC Reimbursement Program (ERP) commenced last year and was scheduled to run through 2022. However, based on this latest revision, all EFC’s will now be paid a full and final payment later this month in respect of any remaining reimbursements.
The decision to accelerate payments – in some cases as much as eighteen months ahead of schedule – was made primarily on humanitarian grounds, after taking into account the impact COVID-19 has had on the families of EFC members, given that conditions in their respective home countries and local communities remain challenging.
It is YTY’s belief that an acceleration of the EFC Reimbursement Program, which will provide our valued EFC’s with a meaningful lump sum payment in June 2021, will allow them to remit part, or all, of these funds back to their families, where it can be used to provide support, sustenance, and financial relief, at a time of great need.
The decision was also made in appreciation of the unwavering commitment provided by EFC’s to continue to support the Company’s mission to manufacture personal protective equipment for healthcare workers around the world, as a critical need for this equipment remains. Those who have left us out of personal necessity, or as a result of a natural end to their employment contract, will also receive the accelerated payout.
Just as YTY had committed to under our original payout plan, we will initiate an independent audit by an established social compliance agency after the final payout later this month, to verify that the totality of the payout was administered in accordance with our original intentions, and in-line with standards acceptable to external stakeholders. This will be a follow-on review to the original audit conducted by Verité, an established social compliance agency, at the outset of the EFC Reimbursement Program, who concluded at that time that the approach, framework and methodology employed to determine the reimbursement sums were satisfactory and reasonable.
The decision by YTY to conclude the EFC Reimbursement Program more rapidly than was originally intended builds on a history of consistent social compliance progress and continued recalibration along the way as conditions warrant. YTY is proud to be one of the first within the industry to have recognized the need for stringent zero-cost recruitment policies, to have gained SEDEX social compliance membership and complete comprehensive four-pillar SMETA audits, and to have initiated a payout scheme such as the EFC Reimbursement Program.
Even with today’s announcement, we recognize the ambitious social compliance targets we have set for ourselves will require ongoing focus and commitment. YTY remains committed to devoting the necessary time, resources, and organization-wide attention to these matters to ensure we remain at the forefront of positive change within the industry.
The previously announced EFC Reimbursement Program (ERP) commenced last year and was scheduled to run through 2022. However, based on this latest revision, all EFC’s will now be paid a full and final payment later this month in respect of any remaining reimbursements.
The decision to accelerate payments – in some cases as much as eighteen months ahead of schedule – was made primarily on humanitarian grounds, after taking into account the impact COVID-19 has had on the families of EFC members, given that conditions in their respective home countries and local communities remain challenging.
It is YTY’s belief that an acceleration of the EFC Reimbursement Program, which will provide our valued EFC’s with a meaningful lump sum payment in June 2021, will allow them to remit part, or all, of these funds back to their families, where it can be used to provide support, sustenance, and financial relief, at a time of great need.
The decision was also made in appreciation of the unwavering commitment provided by EFC’s to continue to support the Company’s mission to manufacture personal protective equipment for healthcare workers around the world, as a critical need for this equipment remains. Those who have left us out of personal necessity, or as a result of a natural end to their employment contract, will also receive the accelerated payout.
Just as YTY had committed to under our original payout plan, we will initiate an independent audit by an established social compliance agency after the final payout later this month, to verify that the totality of the payout was administered in accordance with our original intentions, and in-line with standards acceptable to external stakeholders. This will be a follow-on review to the original audit conducted by Verité, an established social compliance agency, at the outset of the EFC Reimbursement Program, who concluded at that time that the approach, framework and methodology employed to determine the reimbursement sums were satisfactory and reasonable.
The decision by YTY to conclude the EFC Reimbursement Program more rapidly than was originally intended builds on a history of consistent social compliance progress and continued recalibration along the way as conditions warrant. YTY is proud to be one of the first within the industry to have recognized the need for stringent zero-cost recruitment policies, to have gained SEDEX social compliance membership and complete comprehensive four-pillar SMETA audits, and to have initiated a payout scheme such as the EFC Reimbursement Program.
Even with today’s announcement, we recognize the ambitious social compliance targets we have set for ourselves will require ongoing focus and commitment. YTY remains committed to devoting the necessary time, resources, and organization-wide attention to these matters to ensure we remain at the forefront of positive change within the industry.
