Example in Action: Unilever’s Palm Oil Grievance Procedure

• Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational company that produces a wide range of food, beauty, and household cleaning products that use palm oil as an ingredient. Unilever works closely with its suppliers to promote decent work across its palm oil supply chain, including developing a process through which workers’ grievances can be communicated and addressed. 
• The Unilever grievance procedure includes three important steps:
  • An acknowledgement of the grievance and a preliminary review to determine whether the grievance relates to the company’s supply chain. 
  • An in-depth review of the grievance, working with the supplier and an independent organization to develop a time-bound action and remediation plan. 
  • Implementation of actions by the supplier to resolve the issue, with the outcomes monitored. 
• Unilever will often involve an independent organization at various stages to collate further information and outline requirements for the supplier. The company works with its suppliers to help improve practices and resolve issues. 
• As of January 2019, Unilever began publicly disclosing grievances against its suppliers through a published grievance tracker. 

DOL welcomes examples of good practices 
to address child labor and forced labor. 

Email us at GlobalKids@dol.gov.