Cradle to grave
Upgraded grievance system
Platinum miner Lonmin has introduced
a community grievance mechanism that,
according to the company, will improve
two-way communication. To develop
the mechanism, the company considered
input from all affected stakeholders and
undertook many months of planning and
research.
The mechanism, known as Buang
Le Rona/Thetha Nathi (‘Talk to Us’),
kicked off last year with a pilot project.
Lonmin’s executive vice-president:
stakeholder engagement and regulatory
affairs, Thandeka Ncube, expressed her
excitement at launching a full-service
grievance system. The aim of the system
is to improve two-way communication
and the resolution of grievance within the
Greater Lonmin communities.
“The system came about as a result
of the introduction of an internal
policy based on global best practice
and international principles,” explained
Ncube. “We made it a point to ensure
that grievances and conflicts are mediated
in a transparent and fair manner. Most
importantly, this system will be able to
track the progress of a grievance until it
is resolved by the responsible stakeholder,
whether an internal Lonmin department
or an external stakeholder,” adds Ncube.
To ensure maximum impact and
awareness of the mechanism, Lonmin
has invested in an awareness drive that
will educate community members and
employees on how they can access the
system and lay a grievance. Campaign
elements include posters and comment
boxes at shafts and Lonmin-owned
or sponsored community facilities;
pamphlets at high foot-traffic areas in the
Greater Lonmin Community; posters,
in dem
feedback forms, and comment boxes at
local retailers, police stations, and radio
stations; as well as outdoor branding on
buses, bus shelters, and billboards.
Furthermore, the system gives the
community an opportunity to lay a
grievance at face-to-face meetings with
the Lonmin stakeholder team at their
scheduled engagements; a hotline staffed
by consultants who are conversant
in IsiXhosa, Setswana, and English;
comment/suggestion boxes in the
community; and through letters that can
be delivered by hand or emailed to the
Lonmin community office.
Comment boxes will be emptied once
a week and the comments will be loaded
on to a grievance Isometrix system, which
is an internal online system that will be
used to track and monitor progress to
resolve grievances received.
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