New report finds Australia's largest companies disclose limited information on grievance mechanisms and worker remediation
Australia's largest companies have major gaps in publicly disclosing how workers affected by modern slavery can safely report concerns, according to a new report, amid the government's plan to strengthen legislation to stamp out the global issue.
The report, Grievance Mechanisms and Remediation, led by Monash University, reviewed the 2024 financial year modern slavery statements of the 39 largest companies in the Financials and Materials sectors of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) 100.
On average, the companies addressed 14.28 of the 40 questions in the researchers' new 8R Framework, or about 36%. Only five companies addressed at least half of the questions, while nine addressed fewer than 10.
The 8R Framework assesses how transparently companies disclose information about the design and operation of modern slavery grievance mechanisms and whether their remediation processes are effective.
Grievance mechanisms allow workers, communities, and other stakeholders to report actual or suspected harms, including exploitation, unsafe or unfair working conditions and other rights violations. Remediation covers the steps taken to correct the harm, provide redress and prevent it from recurring.
The report found that only 10% of companies disclosed evidence of consulting affected stakeholders or their representatives when designing grievance mechanisms.
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