Grievance mechanisms, remedies and trades unions: a discussion document

Summary

Where a company has caused direct, negative impacts on workers’ human rights through its activities, it should provide remedy to those affected. This forms part of companies’ broader responsibility to respect human rights, as spelled out in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). The UNGPs encourage enterprises to establish, or participate in, effective operational-level, or company grievance mechanisms to support provision of such remedy. Similarly, industry, multi-stakeholder or other collaborative initiatives based on human rights standards can also provide grievance mechanisms that can be accessed by those impacted by companies’ activities. This paper explores operational grievance mechanisms and access to remedy in global supply chains. Drawing upon practical examples and case studies, it discusses central principles with regard to the operation and design of supply chain grievance procedures and identifies key opportunities, challenges, and questions in relation to access to remedy for supply chain workers.