PROPOSAL 6: SHAREHOLDER
PROPOSAL
REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS RISKS
We received
the following proposal from the Priests of the Sacred Heart, U.S. Province, 7373 S. Highway 100, P.O. Box 289, Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130, a beneficial owner of 9,800 shares of our common stock, and the Sisters of St. Dominic, 5635 Erie
Street, Racine, Wisconsin 53402, a beneficial owner of 74 shares of our common stock.
In accordance with SEC rules, we are reprinting the proposal and supporting
statement in this proxy statement as they were submitted to us. The shareholder proposal is required to be voted upon at the Annual Meeting only if properly presented at the Annual Meeting.
As explained below, your Board unanimously recommends that you vote AGAINST the shareholder proposal.
Shareholder Proposal
WHEREAS
, recent global estimates
found that 16 million people are trapped in conditions of forced labor in extended private sector supply chains, generating over $150 billion in profits for illegal labor recruiters and employers through underpayment of wages. Of these workers,
over 70% are in debt bondage and forced to work in industries such as manufacturing. Migrant workers globally are prime targets for exploitation, including discrimination, retaliation, debt bondage, illegal deductions from wages and confiscated or
restricted access to personal documents, limiting workers freedom of movement leading to forced labor and human trafficking.
Corporations have
a responsibility to respect human rights within company-owned operations and through business relationships. This expectation is delineated in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for
Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector. Societal expectations have increased requiring companies to conduct human rights due diligence, informed by the core international human rights instruments, to assess, identify, prevent,
and mitigate adverse human rights impacts. Regulatory requirements in the State of California, the United Kingdom, Australia and France require companies to report on their actions to eradicate human trafficking and slavery. Any company directly or
indirectly employing migrant workers must have a policy that assesses if workers are being recruited into debt bondage, forced labor and, ultimately, slavery.
The 2018 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark gives TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX) an overall score of 13.8 out of 100. This compares poorly with scores from peer
companies Marks & Spencer (70), Gap (52), and Hennes & Mauritz (50). TJXs Vendor & Supplier Code of Conduct does prohibit the use of forced labor, slavery and human trafficking in the companys
supply chains and the company has posted a report on its website in accordance with the California Transparency Supply Chains Act (SB 657). However, TJXs has no formal commitment to respect human rights or remedy adverse impacts; no clear
evidence of Board commitment, management incentives, or engagement with stakeholders; does not disclose whether it embeds respect for human rights in company culture and management systems, conducts human rights risks assessments, or implements
processes to ensure no child or forced labor, freedom of association and collective bargaining, and payment of a living wage.
Given the
companys lack of risk mitigation and disclosure, investors have insufficient information to gauge how well the company is addressing this serious risk to the company and to workers.
RESOLVED
, that shareholders request the Board of Directors of TJX to report, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, on the
Companys process for identifying and analyzing potential and actual human rights risks of operations and its supply chain by December 2019.
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The TJX Companies, Inc.