At its 50th anniversary, the OECD reported more workers seeking remedy directly than ever before. But a grievance mechanism that exists on paper isn't one that works — and only workers can tell you the difference. What the shift to remedy means for due diligence, and how worker voice evidences all eight UNGP Principle 31 criteria.

Open Supply Hub has launched OS Hub Spotlight — a new offering connecting siloed datasets to production facility profiles. Labor Solutions joins as a founding partner, making WOVO Connect operational grievance mechanism data discoverable across OS Hub's open platform. For the first time, brands, suppliers, and civil society organisations can systematically map grievance mechanism coverage at the facility level — a critical step toward meeting CSDDD, LkSG, and UNGP due diligen

adidas submitted 47,200 worker grievances in 2025 — up 32% — with a 99% resolution rate and 79% satisfaction. Here's why rising complaint volume is the strongest signal of a CSDDD-compliant program, and what six years of WOVO data proves.

Most suppliers have a grievance mechanism. The harder question is whether workers trust it enough to use it — and whether buyers know how to read what they see. Zero grievances rarely means zero problems. It often means workers don't feel safe speaking up. This article breaks down what effective operational grievance mechanisms look like, why utilization is the metric that matters, and how buyers can assess supplier systems with confidence.

Eight years of public WOVO data from adidas proves that CSDDD-compliant worker engagement is a program management problem, not a deployment one. Satisfaction doubled, response times fell 80%, and coverage scaled to 400,000+ workers. Here's what the full record shows.

This case study shows how triangulating worker surveys, focus group discussions, and supplier self-assessments reveals whether grievance mechanisms work in practice—and how findings translate into tracked improvement under HRDD and CSDDD.

This blueprint translates adidas’ real-world deployment of worker engagement into a practical, scalable, step-by-step model companies can use to meet CSDDD requirements across complex global supply chains.

What does effective forced labor due diligence look like in practice? Learn how worker engagement and operational grievance mechanisms strengthen HRDD, with lessons from adidas.

Increasingly legislation is requiring grievance mechanisms for global value chains. Effective grievance mechanisms are critical for workers.