The revision of the 2001 version of the SA8000 standard began in May of 2006 in accordance with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards. SAI has solicited input on the revision process from certification bodies, auditors, NGOs, academics, unions, companies and other interested stakeholders during 2 rounds of public comment on the language of the standard, the last of which concluded in May of this year.

In August, the SAI Standard Revision Advisory Board Sub-Committee will be releasing Draft 8 of SA8000:2007 and an expert consultation period will begin.

Included in draft 8 of SA8000:2007 are definitions on personnel, worker representative, management representative; and the additions of the following ILO conventions: Hours of Work (1), Minimum Wage Fixing (131), Maternity Protection (183), the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS; and the International Covenants on Economic, Social, Political, Cultural and Civil rights, as well as the International Covenant Against all Forms of racial Discrimination. Also in August, SAI will post a summary of comments received and how those were incorporated into the standard or why they were not taken on board.

In addition, SAI has conducted extensive research and legal analyses on ILO language and other standards and codes of conduct, including comparisons with the JO-IN common code, recommendations from the SASA project as well as several highly respected codes of conduct from brands and other multi-stakeholder initiatives.

The current SA8000 Standard was last amended in 2001 and is in the process of being reviewed and a draft version of SA8000:2007 is now available. The review and revision is being conducted in accordance with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards.