LRQA is expanding its Global Grievance Mechanism offering with the launch of Mithuru Saviya, a new worker helpline in Sri Lanka designed to support trusted, accessible and effective workplace grievance resolution.
Sri Lanka plays an important role in global supply chains, particularly in sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture. While these industries provide significant employment opportunities, workers can face a range of risks, including excessive working hours, wage-related concerns, discrimination, harassment, barriers to freedom of association and gender-related vulnerabilities. Addressing these risks requires more than periodic assessments. It requires ongoing access to trusted channels through which workers can safely raise concerns and seek remedy when issues arise.
As expectations around labour rights, responsible sourcing and human rights due diligence continue to grow, brands are under increasing pressure to understand working conditions throughout their supply chains. Traditional audits remain an important tool, but they provide only a snapshot in time and may not always capture workers' day-to-day experiences.
Effective grievance mechanisms are therefore becoming an increasingly important pillar of responsible business practices and international human rights due diligence frameworks. They help provide workers with access to remedy while giving businesses greater visibility into workplace risks and emerging issues. By offering workers a safe, trusted and independent way to raise concerns, brands and suppliers can identify problems earlier, respond more effectively and support better outcomes for workers and businesses alike.
LRQA’s new Sri Lanka grievance mechanism, Mithuru Saviya, meaning “friendly support” in Sinhala, has been designed to provide workers with simple and accessible channels to report workplace concerns. Workers will be able to contact the helpline through a toll-free number, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, without needing to download an app.
The service will be supported by locally based live operators who speak Sinhala and Tamil, helping workers raise issues in their own language and in a way that feels safe and familiar. This human-centred approach is central to building trust, particularly where workers may be hesitant to report concerns directly through employer-led channels. Importantly, the mechanism operates independently of brands and suppliers, helping workers feel confident that their concerns can be raised confidentially and without fear of retaliation.
Mithuru Saviya operates as part of LRQA’s broader Global Grievance Mechanism offering, which combines international expertise with local partnerships, across 10 countries. Developed in collaboration with a major fashion brand and a leading local NGO, the initiative is shaped by strong local insights. This local knowledge is essential to ensuring the mechanism is not only available to workers, but understood, trusted and used.
Concerns raised through the helpline are reviewed and escalated through clear processes, with LRQA supporting follow-up, remediation and communication throughout the process. Anonymised data and insights through the LRQA Global Grievance Mechanism Dashboard also help brands and suppliers identify patterns, understand emerging risks and take action before issues potentially worsen.
This combination of worker access, independent support and actionable insight reflects the role grievance mechanisms can play in strengthening responsible sourcing programmes, while complying with Human Rights Due Diligence laws. The helpline is also aligned with the eight effectiveness criteria of grievance mechanisms under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). For brands, they provide greater visibility of workplace risks. For suppliers, they offer a structured route to resolve issues and improve management systems. For workers, they create a trustworthy channel to be heard.
LRQA has more than a decade of experience designing and operating grievance mechanisms globally, reaching millions of workers across multiple geographies. The launch of Mithuru Saviya marks the next step in expanding this capability and supporting businesses with practical, locally grounded tools for human rights due diligence.
By strengthening worker voice in Sri Lanka’s supply chains, LRQA is helping brands move beyond periodic oversight towards more continuous, responsive and trusted engagement with the people at the heart of their operations.
Strengthen worker voice across your supply chain
Mithuru Saviya is part of LRQA's wider Global Grievance Mechanism offering, helping brands and suppliers create trusted channels for workers, identify emerging risks and support effective remediation.
Explore how LRQA can help you build more transparent, resilient and responsible supply chains.
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