Labor and human rights

We aim to uphold the highest standards of labor and human rights, placing it at the core of our strategy and culture. We do this by developing and implementing robust due diligence programs to identify, prevent, mitigate, and remediate actual and potential adverse impacts, both within our operations and throughout our supply chain. (For more information on our supply chain human rights due diligence program, please see Responsible supply chain).

Our due diligence program for our own operations is based on:

• embedding responsible business conducts into policies
• identifying and assessing adverse impacts (including through audit programs)
• ceasing, preventing, and mitigating adverse impacts
• tracking implementation and results
• disclosing how impacts are being addressed

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Embedding responsible business conduct into policies

We joined the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) in 2005 and are currently a full member. As an RBA member, we follow the RBA code of conduct which respects the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ILO Core Conventions, and ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work

The principles covered by these standards are embedded in our internal policies, including:

• ST Code of Conduct
• ST Corporate Social Responsibility Policy
• ST Labor and Human Rights Procedure
• ST Sustainability Charter

We also expect our business partners, suppliers, and distributors to have business practices and processes aligned with these standards and/or with the RBA code of conduct. For more information on our supply chain due diligence program, see Responsible supply chain.

The above-mentioned policies emphasize ST’s commitment to respecting salient human rights issues including:

Freely chosen employment

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Freely chosen employment

We prohibit forced labor, including bonded, trafficked, slave, involuntary, exploitative prison labor.

Prevention of underage labor and protection of young workers

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Prevention of underage labor and protection of young workers

We prohibit child labor and ensure workers under the age of 18 are not exposed to potential hazardous work.

Fair organization of working time

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Fair organization of working time

We maintain reasonable working hours and sufficient rest, in compliance with applicable laws and industry standards.

Fair wages and benefits

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Fair wages and benefits

We offer wages in compliance with all applicable laws, including minimum wages, overtime hours, and legally mandated benefits.

Fair treatment, anti-harassment

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Fair treatment, anti-harassment

We apply a zero-tolerance approach to any form of mistreatment and harassment.

Non-discrimination

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Non-discrimination

We prohibit any discrimination and provide equal opportunities to all employees based on their behaviors, skills, and abilities.

Freedom of association

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Freedom of association

We respect the rights of all workers to form and join trade unions of their choosing, to bargain collectively, and to engage in peaceful assembly.

Fair working conditions and employee well-being

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Fair working conditions and employee well-being

We commit to providing a safe and healthy working environment, conducive to employee well-being.

Privacy of personal information

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Privacy of personal information

We safeguard the privacy of all personal data we gather.

In 2023, we updated our Corporate Labor and Human Rights Procedure, available at www.st.com to strengthen our approach and enhance our comprehensive due diligence beyond legislation. The main changes and new requirements included:

• strengthened labor agency due diligence
• enhanced parental leave policy (see focus)
• maximum threshold for training fee reimbursement requests, when relevant
• emphasis on the right to equal pay and adequate social protection
• adapted work environment for workers with medical conditions and disabilities

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Fostering parental rights

As part of our Labor and Human Rights Procedure update, we have enhanced parental leave protection across ST. Since May 2023, on joining the Company every female employee has the right to 14 weeks of fully paid maternity leave, including at least six weeks of compulsory postnatal leave. We also provide the second parent with at least two weeks of fully paid parental leave. Family structures have been evolving for some time and we recognize that paid parental leave must encompass a broad spectrum of parenthood. In line with our policy of non-discrimination, we provide fully paid parental leave in cases of adoption and surrogacy.

We are also committed to safeguarding parental rights and benefits by:

• providing full protection from dismissal during parental leave
• emphasizing the right to return to work in the same or equivalent position and pay
• requiring our sites to define and implement local carer’s benefits for people with caring responsibilities
• guaranteeing that women on maternity leave receive at least the average increase given to employees on the site or country in a given year

These requirements also contribute to our diversity, equity and inclusion strategy and goals (see Diversity, equity and inclusion). More information on our new parental leave protections can be found in our Labor and Human Rights Procedure.

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Identifying and assessing adverse human rights impacts

Our risk assessment processes are deployed at our major sites (700+ employees and/or manufacturing sites). They support the identification and assessment of actual or potential adverse human rights impacts for 89% of our workforce.

Risk assessments are undertaken using several methods, including:

• a corporate assessment of the inherent risks related to our activities and locations
• site-specific assessments to identify the labor and human rights risks associated with local operations at our major sites
• RBA human rights self-assessment questionnaires (SAQs). In 2023, our sites scored from 73.7/100 to 97.0/100. Our sites’ average score is 85.6/100, exceeding the industry average of 79.6/100.

These tools are complemented by two audit programs covering up to 80% of our workforce. In addition to this, we also have a program of audits covering our suppliers and subcontractors. (For more information, see Responsible supply chain).

RBA audit program

RBA third-party audits are conducted on a two-year basis at our 11 largest manufacturing sites. All our manufacturing sites eligible for the RBA audit program were audited during 2022–23 (including initial and closure audits).

In 2023, thanks to the continual efforts of our teams, five of our manufacturing sites obtained RBA Platinum recognition with full compliance (200/200) during their initial audits:

• Bouskoura (Morocco)
• Catania (Italy)
• Crolles (France)
• Rousset (France)
• Tours (France)

These five scores complement the RBA Platinum recognition obtained in 2022 by our Calamba (the Philippines), Ang Mo Kio (Singapore), and Agrate (Italy) sites during their initial audits and in 2021 by our Muar site (Malaysia) during their closure audit.

Our Kirkop site (Malta) achieved RBA Platinum recognition during its last closure audit in 2021. The site conducted its next initial audit in 2023, and received Gold recognition, exceeding the industry average by 49 points.

Our Shenzhen site (China) obtained RBA Silver recognition during its closure audit in 2023, exceeding the industry average by 6 points.

Our 2023 RBA audit average score exceeds the industry average by 55 points in initial audits and by 6 points in closure audits.

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RBA audit results for ST operations in 2023 SDG 8.7

Number of audits: 7
Total of priority or major non-conformances
Labor, Ethics		Health and Safety
Working hours	2	N/A	0
Management systems		Environment
N/A	0	N/A	0

Labor and human rights (LHR) internal audit program

We conduct internal audits at least every three years on major ST sites. The LHR audit program assesses alignment with ST’s Corporate Labor and Human Rights Procedure, as well as national, regional, and local regulatory requirements. It enables us to proactively identify risks and opportunities for improvement.

In 2023, we conducted two LHR internal audits. For this audit cycle, the areas identified for improvement were related to management systems and labor issues such as working hours, overtime rates, days off, and housing standards.

Preventing and mitigating impacts on human rights

We continually develop and implement measures to prevent or mitigate any adverse impacts identified through our risk assessment tools. Corrective action plans (CAPs) are established to close any gaps between local practices and ST’s human rights standards.

CAPs identify and address root causes and aim to prevent any recurrence of identified adverse impacts by:

• providing a description of the preventive and corrective actions to address the root cause(s)
• including time frames that corrective actions must align with
• being tracked at both site and corporate level
• enhancing our management systems and sharing best practices

CAPs may include policy or procedure changes, communication or training, and impact measurements.

In 2023, we implemented a range of preventive and remediation actions.

Alongside CAPs, we provide labor and human rights training to raise awareness among employees and suppliers. ST’s commitments in this regard emphasize compliance with the policies and standards mentioned above. 409-1

In addition, any labor and human rights concerns from internal and external stakeholders can be reported through an independent multilingual Speak Up Hotline. Cases are handled with the utmost confidentiality, and we apply a zero-tolerance approach to retaliation. (For more information on ST’s grievance mechanisms, see Ethics and compliance). 3-3

Tracking effectiveness and performance monitoring

We continually monitor and review our sites’ and suppliers’ performance by tracking CAPs to measure and improve their effectiveness in addressing adverse human rights impacts. Corrective actions must be identified and implemented within 12 months. Audit and CAP updates are followed up and shared with sites quarterly.

ST sites’ social performances are monitored every quarter through specific reporting tools, such as working hours and leave reports. We also regularly monitor and review site performance against specific objectives and targets. These are included in the personal objectives of the site Sustainability Champion and relevant human resources team.

Communicating

We annually communicate how we are addressing our risks and impacts, including through our sustainability report and French due diligence report available at www.st.com.

In light of rapidly evolving human rights due diligence legislation, we also increasingly receive and address corporate social responsibility (CSR), labor and human rights-related requests from our customer request platform, OLS. In 2023, over 900 CSR-related requests were addressed by our teams. These included:

• information sharing on our labor and human rights due diligence through RBA documentation (including SAQs and audit certificates)
• ST’s statement on labor and human rights issues, such as forced labor
• sharing of sustainability assessment results, such as EcoVadis

Collaborating on labor and human rights

We are a member of Entreprise pour les Droits de l’Homme (EDH), a French business association for human rights. EDH membership supports us in enhancing our due diligence through stakeholder engagement by shaping practices and building capacity to uphold human rights.

Laurent Lhopitallier

President, Entreprise pour les Droits de l’Homme (EDH) (France)

EDH is an association of practitioners dedicated to human rights practices within companies. In a context of growing regulatory obligations and increasing stakeholder expectations, it enables STMicroelectronics and other members to better understand human rights issues, to share knowledge and best practices with their peers, and to raise awareness of the importance of human rights in the corporate world.

Contributing to the SDGs

Our commitments and programs described above contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

SDG target 8.7 – Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor.

SDG target 8.8 – Protect labor rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers.

SDG target 17.16 – Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, in particular developing countries.