The global corporate governance philosophy of transparency and anti-corruption has been followed.
Integrity is WT’s most important core value and business philosophy. Employees must abide by clear moral standards and code of conduct, and do their utmost to fulfill our commitments to shareholders, banks, customers, employees, vendors and other suppliers, and ensure that the rights and interests of all stakeholders are in balance.
In 2020, WT formulated the Social Policy and Code of Conduct, United Nations Anti-Corruption Policy, and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Policy in line with global corporate governance and anti-corruption concepts and frameworks, including Responsible Business Alliance Code of Conduct, the UN Global Compact, the International Labor Standards, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Corporations, etc.
WT has always believed that Social Policies and Code of Conduct are core requirements for conducting all operational activities in order to gain a competitive advantage and to do the right thing. The high ethical standards of all members of the leadership team not only inspire employees’ confidence in the Company’s operations, but also create a supportive working environment for employees. The Social Policies and Code of Conduct are also principles for Members of the Board, all employees, group subsidiaries, independent contractors, suppliers and all those who deal with WT.
In the past five years, WT has not directly or indirectly donated to political activities, political parties/associations/NGOs or politics-related organizations, individual politicians or other voting/referendum initiatives, and the amount of political donations was NT$0. Likewise, it did not lobby for specific issues or engage in interest group activities.
In order to improve the ethical corporate management, the HR, Legal and Auditing Office jointly formed an Ethical Management Team, the chief human resources officer serve as the leader of the team, decentralizing the formulation and supervision of ethical corporate management policies and preventive measures based on the work responsibility and scope of each unit, to ensure the implementation of the Ethical Corporate Management Best Practice Principles.
In order to implementation of ethical corporate management, WT establish mechanisms for assessing the risk of unethical conduct, periodically analyze and assess operating activities within the scope of business with relatively high risk of unethical conduct, establish comprehensive and effective control mechanisms in accounting and internal control systems to prevent potential business activities and operational procedures that may involve higher levels of dishonest behavior. The internal audit team also prioritizes high-risk operations for annual audit plans based on risk assessments to strengthen preventive measures, and reports on the actual implementation of audit plans to regular board meetings. In addition, through annual self-assessment of internal control operations, all departments and subsidiaries of the company are required to self-examine their internal control systems to ensure the effectiveness of their design and implementation.
The Ethical Management Team reports the implementation of ethical corporate management in the previous year to the Board of Directors every year. The Ethical Management Team reported to the Board of Directors on January 6, 2023, including Ethical Values and Business Practice Principles training、risk assessment results and whistleblowing for any violation of the code of conduct, etc., to assist the Board of Directors in assessing whether the ethical corporate management measures established by the Company is operating effectively.
Conduct prohibited
by the Code of Practices for Ethical Operation
1.Giving and receiving bribes
2.Making illegal political contributions
3.Improper charitable donations or sponsorships
4.Offer or accept unreasonable gifts, entertainment or other improper advantages
5.Infringe trade secrets, trademark rights, patent rights, copyrights and other intellectual property rights
6.Engage in unfair competition
7.Damage, directly or indirectly, the rights, health and safety of stakeholders during product and services research and development, procurement, provision or sales
WT has formulated the Ethical Corporate Management Best Practice Principles, Procedures for Ethical Management and Guidelines for Conduct, Codes of Ethical Conduct, and Supplier Code of Conduct, which the Board of Directors has passed by resolution. They are publicized in the Corporate Governance section of the Company’s official website and the Intranet in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and English. Information on Ethical Values and Professional Code of Conduct and Insider Trading Prevention Education and Advocacy are made available on the Intranet for all employees’ reference. In addition, relevant personnel are also appointed to participate in lectures and symposiums held by industrial associations or professional groups, so as to strengthen the Group’s ethical operation policies.
In order for all employees to fully understand and abide by the applicable regulations and standards, relevant on-board training is given to new hires, and refresher training is conducted routinely for all in-service employees of the entire Group every year. At the start of the 2022 refresher training on Ethical Values and Code of Conduct, 2,532 employees across the Group were in-service and thus required to take the course. All of them have completed the course and passed the test (100% pass rate). In 2022, a total of 1,956 hours of ethical operation training, including those given in on-board training for new hires, were given to an accumulated attendance of 3,309 persons, with 100% completion rate.
In terms of contracting company employees, contractors are required to conduct regular training on integrity behavior every year regarding the company’s confidential information, personal data, and avoidance of improper advantage. If the employees become aware of (or suspects) any violation of ethical values and code of conduct, it should be reported to the contractor supervisor and forwarded to WT. WT takes good measures to keep the whistleblower confidential so that he or she will not be maliciously retaliated or harmed for reporting. After reviewing relevant training records, 100% of employees of contracting companies in Taiwan have completed ethical training in 2022.
WT’s whistleblower channels include an internal whistleblower mailbox and a whistleblower section on the official website for whistleblowers to report illegal conduct of company personnel. The Ethical Operation Management Team is responsible for accepting reports, opening cases, forwarding them to the heads of relevant units for investigation, and following them up until the cases are closed. The identity of the whistleblower, the content of the report, and the investigation process are all kept confidential. A complete record of the case acceptance, investigation process, and results is kept for five years.
In 2022, five reports were accepted and handled. No serious corruptive activities were found. Nevertheless, the investigation of one of the cases determined that the employee had indeed violated professional ethics, and the employee was therefore dismissed in accordance with the Group’s internal punishment regulations.
An independent hotline and dedicated mailbox have been set up for sexual harassment complaints. In order to protect the rights and interests of the complainant, a complaint is accepted and handled in a confidential manner. The name of the complainant or other relevant information sufficient to identify the complainant will not be disclosed. The handling process and information of a complaint case are documented in writing, and kept in a sealed archive for five years. In 2022, no sexual harassment complaints were received.
WT seeks to promote honest and ethical conduct, deter illegal conduct, and abide by all applicable laws and regulations of the places where it operates. As of the end of 2022, there were neither violations of laws and regulations in economic aspects (such as investment, securities, taxation, etc.), environmental aspects (pollution-related violations, such as air pollution, waste water, waste, etc.), or social aspects (such as labor regulations, human rights, disabling injuries, etc.), nor resulting punishments imposed by the competent authorities. The numbers of violations and the amount of penalty were both NTD 0.
WT has zero tolerance for corruption and has a whistleblower mechanism in place
WT offers transparent and accessible whistleblower channels. The channels have been made known through on-board training, in-service refresher training, answers to suppliers’ or customers’ questionnaires, etc. WT encourages all employees to blow the whistle without hesitation when they found a violation of the Company’s ethics policy. The whistleblower channels are open to all, including suppliers, customers and other third parties.
- Take the initiative to communicate with employees
- Put in place an independent whistleblower hotline
- Set up a whistleblower section on WT’s official website
- Localize the whistleblower channels in local languages
- Anonymous tips and reports will be kept confidential
- Disclose the number of reports received, types of misconduct and actions taken.
- Conduct integrity and ethics training to ensure employees fully understand company policies, procedures and control measures.
