Are you prepared for new regulation requiring effective grievance mechanisms for workers?

Schains can face a variety of complex challenges; these can include unfair wages, poor working conditions and limited access to support and resources. At worst, supply chains can hide the most egregious human rights issues such as forced labour and child labour. As a specialist labour and environmental standards program, the ICTI Ethical Toy Program (IETP) understands these risks and how they can be mitigated, along with the importance of treating workers fairly.

IETP was created by the toy industry to oversee the implementation of its Code of Business Practices, a code that sets out the standards expected of the industry, created by the industry, for the industry. IETP has continued to develop that standard to ensure it helps companies meet their objectives, commitments to consumers and obligations to regulators. IETP works with companies to eradicate labour standards issues and promote ethical labour practices in all industries in the global supply chain. IETP does this primarily through its certification program, but also goes beyond certification and audits to provide support, guidance and worker-well-being programs, including employerfunded childcare services, to deliver an improved worklife balance for factory workers.

In recent years, there has been growing recognition of the need to provide worker helplines and grievance violations, directly requiring the implementation of a grievance mechanism. IETP has implemented and required its Worker Helpline to be deployed in all factories in its program for over 13 years. In recent years, IETP’s Helpline has expanded to be utilized in new industry sectors and for bespoke projects including for the construction industry, where there is a high risk of rights violations and often poor labour standards. free, confidential, grievance mechanism and support helpline for workers. IETP has teams on the ground, stationed where workers are; as soon as a Helpline case is escalated, IETP investigates. 100% of all cases received are closed. of IETP’s established and trusted Worker Helpline is that it provides a direct line of communication for workers to report issues and concerns before they can escalate into larger problems, which for many other programs are only identified through audit reports and may be too late to take effective action. The Helpline provides an effective, safe, and confidential channel for workers to report issues without fear of