This statement is made on behalf of Airspan Networks Inc. in line with the requirements of Section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act (2015) and sets out the steps that Airspan is taking to ensure that modern slavery or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain.
Modern slavery encompasses slavery, servitude, human trafficking, and forced labor. Airspan has a zero tolerance approach to any form of modern slavery. We are committed to acting ethically and with integrity and transparency in all business dealings and to putting effective systems and controls in place to safeguard against any form of modern slavery taking place within the business or our supply chain.
Airspan is a Leading Vendor of 4G and 5G small cells and backhaul technologies to mobile network operators. Airspan also addresses private network deployments including the requirements of Internet Service Providers, and a number of vertical market segments including Smart Grids, Public Safety, Transportation and Oil & Gas.
Airspan is engaged in the design, marketing, and supply of a range of products supporting the above technologies for customers on a global basis and has operations in a number of countries.
In our own operations, the significant majority of our workforce is employed on permanent contracts. In our supply chain, we outsource all of the manufacturing of our products on a turnkey basis to professional, global Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) providers.
We are committed to excellence in corporate governance, transparency, and accountability. This is essential for the long-term performance and sustainability of our Company, and to protect and enhance the interests of our stakeholders.
We operate a number of internal policies to ensure that we are conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner. These include:
Modern Slavery statement. This statement sets out the organization’s stance on modern slavery and explains how we approach adherence to the requirement
Recruitment policy. We operate a robust recruitment policy, including conducting eligibility to work in appropriate geography checks for all employees to safeguard against human trafficking or individuals being forced to work against their will.
Code of Business Conduct. This Code explains the manner in which we behave as an organization and how we expect our employees and suppliers to act. Please see our “Code of Business Conduct” policy in the Corporate and Social Responsibility section on our website
We outsource all of the manufacturing of our products on a turnkey basis to professional, global Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) providers. These EMS providers operate in multiple geographic locations around the world.
By outsourcing to these EMS companies on a turnkey basis we have effectively reduced the number of suppliers in our global supply chain significantly as we generally will only be dealing with two (2) or three (3) providers at any one time.
As an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) we are responsible for the selection of the raw material components that go into the manufacturing Bill of Material (BOM) for our products. We then rely on our EMS providers to use their preferred suppliers of the component types to actually manufacture the products. There are occasions where we select and approve suppliers prior to engaging with an EMS provider.
We conduct due diligence on all EMS providers before allowing them to become a preferred manufacturer and supplier. This due diligence includes an online search to ensure that a particular organization has never been convicted of offenses relating to modern slavery.
We conduct on-site audits which include a review of working conditions. We visit these sites regularly through each year as part of our general management of these suppliers and the overall business processes.
We request from our EMS providers that they demonstrate to us that they operate within the required legal and compliance framework of the stated working conditions within their respective countries.
SA 8000 is an auditable International Certification standard that encourages organizations to develop, maintain, and apply socially acceptable practices in the workplace and is site-specific. We check for SA 8000 Certification and other forms of ethical and social responsibility policies with our preferred EMS providers.
We will know the effectiveness of the steps that we are taking to ensure that slavery and/or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain if:
No reports are received from employees, the public, or law enforcement agencies to indicate that modern slavery practices have been identified.
Organizations maintain their SA8000 Certification
By understanding the legal requirements in various countries for identifying youth workers in the manufacturing process
Our future commitments are to continue to monitor our operations and suppliers for their adherence and compliance to these standards.
We will continue to add further training to our Procurement and Quality Management professionals to further identify, understand and manage human rights risk management.
This statement has been reviewed and approved by the Executive Management team of Airspan Networks Inc
Glenn Laxdal
President and Chief Executive Officer
September 1st, 2023
5201 Congress Ave, Suite 130
Boca Raton, FL 33487 USA
+1 561-893-8670