Grievance report monitoring

This indicator may be used to gauge business entity commitment to identifying grievances within their operations. Worker mistrust of grievance reporting mechanisms is well-established in counter-trafficking. However, certain factors have been found to increase the likelihood that workers feel able to submit grievance reports, including worker knowledge that one party monitoring submitted grievance reports is composed of business entity employees (or their legitimate representatives).

Calculation Method 

Step 1. Define what is meant by ‘legitimate representatives’ for the purposes of using this indicator as this will vary according to context. For example, this may refer to fully ‘independent of the business entity’ AND ‘having a public record of successful workplace remediation between workers and business entities’.  

Step 2. Count the # of business entities that meet the terms of the indicator including the criteria defined in Step 1 and note this alongside the total number of targeted business entities. 

Data collection and analysis 

The indicator is intended for use by CSOs engaging directly with business entities and workers and uses engagement records and interview data for assessment.  

For each business entity being assessed, engagement records should be systematically developed during the project or program detailing the types of engagement activities themselves. Records may be kept from meetings, email or in-person communications, public events, private or public documents shared by the business entity, or other engagement activities. They may involve business entity personnel, workers, or relevant worker bodies (e.g., worker committees or unions).  

Records should include information shared through engagement activities about the role of workers or their representatives in monitoring grievance reports (e.g., how many workers or representatives perform this role, how grievance reports are shared with those individuals and how often, and what procedures are in place for those workers or representatives to act on information that is shared.  

Interviews may also be used to gather information to assess if a business entity meets the indicator criteria. These should be held with a range of parties including workers or their representatives who are directly involved in the monitoring process as well as workers who are not directly involved.  

Example interview questions for workers or their representatives potentially involved in the monitoring grievance reports (currently or in the past) should address whether they have been involved and the extent of their involvement: 

• What has your involvement or role been in the monitoring process? 

• In this work, how are grievance reports or information about them shared with you exactly? 

• What procedures are in place for you to act on information that is shared in or about grievance reports?  

Example interview question for workers and worker representatives not involved monitoring grievance reports and for business entity personnel: 

• Are you aware of any workers or [legitimate worker representatives, as defined by the project or program] who are currently involved in grievance report monitoring in this business entity? 

• Are you aware of any workers or legitimate worker representatives [as defined by the project or program] who have been involved in grievance report monitoring in this business entity in the past? 

• IF YES to either of these questions: How do you know they were involved? 

Using the information collected in engagement records and interview data, the number of business entities that meet the terms of this indicator may be counted. 

• Business entity size (e.g., # employees and / or annual turnover) 

• Sector (e.g., construction, fishing, agriculture, fashion, ICT and others) 

• Suppliers / buyers 

This indicator notably does not measure the extent to which workers involved in the grievance report monitoring process are also involved in remediation efforts and may be used in combination with other indicators that assess different aspects of worker involvement of the grievance reporting processes. This is because the most effective grievance processes are ones involve workers in the whole process of design, implementation, monitoring, and remediation of grievances. 

Definitions 

Target business entities: The term “business entity” is used in a general sense to denote legally recognized organizations formed for the purpose of engaging in economic transactions, provide goods or services, and generate profits, engaged by the project or program. This may range from small businesses, for example a local restaurant chain that employs less than 50 people, to a multinational company with thousands of employees.