Grievance Mechanism Procedure (1st Version: 1st July 2018)
Thailand Smelting and Refining Co., Ltd.
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Annex I: Grievance Lodgment Form
1. Introduction
The purpose of this document is to formalize the management of grievances from Thaisarco’s stakeholders to minimize the supply chain risks to the business. The grievance process, outlined in the document, provides an avenue for stakeholders to voice their concerns and gives transparency on how grievances will be managed internally, all of which aims to improve the responsible in the supply chain.
2. Scope
The grievance mechanism procedure applies to all external stakeholders of our operations. This procedure does not cover grievances raised by internal stakeholders, such as employees, who should refer to Thaisarco’s internal grievance procedures.
3. Terms/Definitions
| Grievance : | An issue, concern, problem, or claim (perceived or actual) that an individual or community group wants addressed by the company in a formal manner. |
| Grievance Mechanism : | A formalized way to accept, assess, and resolve community complaints, concerning performance or behavior of the company, its contractors, or employees, includes adverse supply chain, environmental and social impacts. |
| Internal Stakeholders : | Groups or individuals within a business who work directly within the business, such as employees and contractors. |
| External Stakeholders : | Groups or individuals outside a business who are not directly employed or contracted by the business but are affected in some way from the decisions of the business, such as customers, suppliers, community and the government. |
4. Grievance Reporting Channels
Thaisarco will communicate this procedure to its external stakeholders to raise awareness and offer transparency of how stakeholders can voice their grievances. Various channels for external stakeholders to voice their grievances include:
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Telephone : Stakeholders can contact stakeholder contact officers as follows
» Procurement Director at +6676371-111 ext. 1501; or
» Procurement Manager at +6676371-111 ext. 1504. - Email: Grievances can be sent to warit@thaisarco.com or rapee@thaisarco.com.
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Online form: Stakeholders can complete a grievance form on our website
(Grievance Lodgment Form)
5. Roles and Responsibilities
| Roles | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Stakeholder Contact Officer |
|
| Grievance Owner |
|
6. Grievance Mechanism Process
The flowchart below describes the grievance mechanism process to resolve any grievances:
6.1 Receive Grievance
Over the phone
If a grievance is received over the phone, the stakeholder contact officer will complete a Grievance Lodgement Form (see annex I) for further processing.
Electronic
The stakeholder contact officers receive all grievances that come through via email or Thaisarco’s website. The stakeholder contact officers will review the grievance form and process the grievance in accordance to this procedure.
6.2 Record
All formal grievances will be logged in the External Grievance Register (see annex II) for record of correspondence.
6.3 Screen
Grievances will be screened depending on the level of severity in order to determine the grievance owner and how the grievance is approached. See below table categorizing the different levels:
| Category | Description | Grievance Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | When an answer can be provided immediately and/or Thaisarco are already working on resolution. | Stakeholder Contact Officer |
| Level 2 | One off grievances that will not affect Thaisarco’s reputation. | Supervisor level or above |
| Level 3 | Repeated, extensive and high profile grievances that may damage Thaisarco’s reputation. | Managing Director or above |
6.4 Acknowledge
A grievance will be acknowledged by the stakeholder contact officer, within five working days upon receipt of a grievance. Communication will be made either verbally or in written form. Stakeholders will outline their preferred method of contact on the Grievance Lodgment Form, see Annex I.
The grievance acknowledgement should include a summary of the grievance, method that will be taken to resolve the grievance and an estimated timeframe in which the grievance will be resolved. If required, the stakeholder contact officer may ask stakeholder/s for any additional information or to clarify any issues.
6.5 Investigate
The grievance owner together with the stakeholder contact officer is responsible for investigating the grievance. The investigation may require the grievance owner to make site visits, consult employees, contact external stakeholders and complete other activities.
Records of meeting, discussion and activities need to be recorded during the investigation. Information gathered during the investigation will be analyzed and will assist in determining how the grievance is handled and what steps need to be taken in order to resolve the grievance.
6.6 Act
The grievance owner is responsible for assigning actions, monitoring actions undertaken and meets the deadlines. Once all actions have been completed and the grievance owner feels the grievance has been resolved, the grievance owner will then inform the stakeholder contact officer to further advise the external stakeholder/s via their preferred method of contact.
6.7 Follow up and close out
The stakeholder contact officer will contact the external stakeholder/s four weeks after the grievance is resolved to verify that the outcome was satisfied and also gather any feedback on the grievance process.
If required, the stakeholder contact officer may need to follow up with the external stakeholder on numerous occasions to confirm all parties are satisfied.
7. APPEAL
If the external stakeholder(s) are not satisfy with the resolution and/or does not agree with the proposed actions, then the stakeholder contact officer needs to bring the matter to the attention of the Managing Director who will review the grievance and documents gathered throughout the investigation and determine whether further actions are required to resolve the grievance.
If Thaisarco are unable to resolve a complaint or a stakeholder is not satisfied with the outcome, Thaisarco may seek advice from other independent parties.
8. REPORTING
Information outlining the number of grievances, resolution time and outcomes of grievances will be reported to Managing Director on a monthly basis. Thaisarco will evaluate and update the Grievance Mechanism procedure every three years (or when required) to continually improve its stakeholder engagement.
9. STORING OF GRIEVANCES
All records, including grievance forms, investigation notes, and minutes of meetings will be securely stored on Thaisarco’s server with suitable encryption to ensure privacy and confidentiality is maintained for all parties involved.