Grievance mechanisms are formal complaint processes that can be used by stakeholders, including workers and community members, to raise concerns if they are being negatively affected by business operations. Grievance mechanisms are a key tool to address human rights violations and to promote decent work in seafood supply chains. They provide workers with a safe and accessible way to elevate issues, seek remedy, and participate in improving workplace conditions. When designed and implemented effectively, grievance mechanisms not only support early identification of risks but also help companies build trust with workers, address issues before they escalate, and strengthen their human rights due diligence efforts.

Grievance mechanisms provide significant benefits in the workplace. They facilitate communication between workers and management around workplace problems and enable workers to submit complaints with dignity, knowing that there is a system to fairly evaluate their complaints. 

The United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights has identified eight criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of company  grievance mechanisms:

• Legitimate: enabling trust with the workers and establishing accountability for the fair conduct of the grievance process.
• Accessible: known to all workers and providing adequate assistance to workers who face barriers to access.
• Predictable: providing clear and known procedures with a time frame for each stage and clarity on the process, ownership and outcome.
• Equitable: ensuring that aggrieved workers have access to sources of information, advice, and expertise necessary to engage in the grievance process.
• Transparent: keeping those involved in the grievance process informed about its progress and providing sufficient information to build confidence in its effectiveness.
• Rights-compatible: ensuring that outcomes and remedies are in line with internationally recognized human rights.
• A source of continuous learning: reviewing and evaluating to identify lessons for improving the grievance mechanism and preventing future grievances and harms.
• Based on engagement and dialogue: consulting with workers on the design and performance of the grievance and remedy policy and process, and focusing on dialogue as the means to address and resolve grievances.

The first step to developing effective grievance mechanisms is to develop policies and procedures that outline the structure and process for receiving, reviewing, and remediating grievances. Procedures should be designed so that they provide for a real and concrete settlement, not simply a series of administrative steps that need to be taken before the issue can be concluded. These should include:

• Policies that ensure that workers who report a grievance can do so without fear of penalty, dismissal, or reprisal 
• A mechanism to ensure worker confidentiality
• Procedures that allow workers to report a grievance to someone other than their supervisor or any other manager in their supervisor’s chain of command
• Procedures for workers to monitor the status of complaints
• A procedure for management to follow-up on reported grievances
• Policies that provide workers with access to additional support or advocacy
• Policies that provide workers should the right to be supported or represented by a trade union, or any other person of the workers’ choosing
• A mechanism for appeal

In order for grievance mechanisms to function properly, everyone involved in the process must be properly informed and trained. Train workers on how to use the grievance reporting tool and what will happen after an issue is reported. All supervisors, managers, and owners need to be trained on the grievance mechanism, with specific attention paid to confidentiality and non-retaliation. 

Some unique considerations for grievance mechanisms in seafood supply chains include accessibility, language barriers, and stakeholder involvement. To improve accessibility for seafood workers onboard vessels, require and implement Wi-Fi access on board, with an access agreement that includes terms, hours of use, and privacy stipulations. This is to ensure their freedom of communication and ability to access grievance mechanisms. Workers should have the same level of access to Wi-Fi as the captain. Many workers in seafood supply chains are migrant workers and many workplaces include workers speaking several different languages. Ensure that all grievance mechanism policies, procedures, and tools are available in all of the primary languages spoken by workers. Due to the number of migrant workers and their distance from direct support, working with trusted local organizations is essential to implementing effective grievance mechanisms. Form partnerships with external technical experts as needed, and leverage local stakeholder support to communicate with worker families, unions, and other stakeholders who can support grievance resolution.

When responding to grievances submitted by workers it is important to ensure that the issues are addressed in an effective and timely manner. Include a time-bound process that ensures credible remedy for workers followed by verification from workers that remediation has occurred. 

• Analyze and verify the problem, making sure to involve those impacted in the process
• Include those impacted and all levels of management when designing solutions to address root cause and prevent further issues
• Consult with workers and integrate worker-led efforts into the remediation process. Refer to the “Worker Engagement” Foundation for more information.
• Work with suppliers to respond to grievances or human rights abuses with a time-bound corrective action plan. 
  • Work through your supply chain partners in order to prevent confusion and avoid undermining other efforts.
  • In this plan, resolve the operational issues contributing to the grievance and reduce the likelihood of similar problems by addressing the root cause. 
  • Consider potential roadblocks and plan to engage with those that can help you move past them.

Throughout the remediation process, communication is extremely important. Include guidance on when communication will be provided after the grievance is initially submitted. Both workers and management should be updated regularly before the final resolution is reached. For workers, provide access to a case management system with necessary support and protection in order to ensure follow up and communication, and safeguard them from threats or retaliation.