Enabling people to advocate for their rights.
Being able to raise concerns to facility management or to Gap Inc. is essential for workers to have a voice in their workplace. We require facilities to provide a confidential and anonymous channel for workers to express grievances without fear of retaliation. The grievance process must allow for a timely response, with documentation, and an action plan to address the issue. Our field team trains factory workers and managers on establishing and using grievance mechanisms. If our team identifies any issues, we require facilities to implement corrective action plans and evaluate their performance.
We provide all of our suppliers with information on how to effectively operate and manage grievance mechanisms. Key elements include information on:
We also have developed a comprehensive suite of programs that provide myriad workplace benefits and channels where workers can effectively raise grievances. Within each program, workers are given a voice to raise concerns with facility management and outside parties, via various channels:
We believe that context-specific approaches to grievance mechanisms will increase the likelihood that workers use them. We are evaluating additional service providers that can help to implement technology-based solutions in other sourcing markets. Additionally, we are responsive to third parties that raise grievances with us via any of our communication channels.