Amid major changes in the social environment, the Group has formulated the Sumitomo Electric Group Policy on Human Rights and issued the Sumitomo Electric Group Health and Productivity Management Declaration in addition to the Global HRM Policy, in order to ensure that diverse human capital can work with a sense of fulfillment and demonstrate their abilities to the fullest extent possible. Through these efforts, the Group strives to create a dynamic workplace that respects human rights and allows diverse human capital to thrive.
Since 2008, the Company has been promoting a Company-wide initiative to realize an even better-balanced work style, while improving its personnel systems, reducing total annual working hours, encouraging employees to take paid leave, and increasing productivity through improved work efficiency.
Currently, the Company is working on initiatives from various perspectives, particularly influencing the corporate culture and employee’s awareness, utilizing infrastructure and IT tools to increase productivity, and reviewing operation rules and processes.
The Company is also improving its systems to meet the diverse needs of its employees to help them balance work with childcare and long-term care.

To create an environment where diverse human resources can work lively, the union and management have set up expert committees of various kinds to improve working systems and reinforce monitoring functions.
In addition, we regularly organize town hall meetings where employees can have direct dialogue with executives and make use of the opinions received in the meetings for organizational operation and planning of personnel systems.

Sumitomo Electric believes that the development of a company goes hand-in-hand with the well-being of its workers' union members. On the basis of this belief, Sumitomo Electric strives to address various relevant issues by thorough discussion between labor and management, each party appreciating the other's standpoint.
The Central Management Council Meeting, which is held four times a year, has been organized in its history of more than 70 years.
Representatives of labor and management meet for opinion exchange concerning business environments and managing conditions in this meeting. We have also set up expert committees of various kinds, such as the Working Hour Reduction Expert Committee and the Health and Welfare Expert Committee.
To facilitate adaptation to diverse work styles and create an environment where all employees can work lively with smiles, we are improving various working systems and reinforcing monitoring functions.

●Organization of Town Hall Meetings

Town hall meetings are held with the attendance of executives including the President, administrative members and manufacturing site managers. They involve vigorous exchange of opinions on the direction the company should take and problems to be solved, such as how managers should train subordinates and younger employees and how the workplaces should be operated. We also hold informal meetings to create a lively working environment, at which the HR & Administration Department holds dialogues with younger staffs and listens to their voices directly, on personnel issues including the current situation of each workplace regarding work style reforms, the personnel evaluation system and career building. We use these meetings to improve personnel-related measures, deepen young employees' understanding of the personnel system, and enhance motivation.

During the period of childbirth and childcare, it is especially important for the relevant employees and their superiors to have detailed “dialogue.” Since fiscal 2015, the Company has institutionalized dialogue between employees and their superiors at the following times: when the relevant employees find out they are pregnant; one month before taking maternity leave; before returning to work from childcare leave; and two months after returning to work from childcare leave.
Since fiscal 2019, a dialogue six months after returning from childcare leave has been added in order to promote dialogue with an eye toward career development. The Company, thus, supports employees in making a smooth return to work and playing an active role after returning from childcare leave.