The mining industry is constantly working to improve safety standards as the inherent physical risk in the industry remains high. Canadian mines are sophisticated and advanced infrastructure projects that involve not only tremendous human capital but also affect the people near the active sites. For the industry to continue to develop and evolve into a thoroughly inclusive environment, it is critical that there are continuous efforts to improve oversight and empower employees to speak up when they encounter issues. Whistleblower hotlines can also be made available for external stakeholders and the general public to forward concerns at the company’s discretion, creating a holistic reporting solution. Implementing whistleblower policies, procedures and technology can help push the needle forward in terms of safety standards and create robust speak-up cultures that prioritize both physical and psychological safety among employees.
Each provincial and territorial government regulates mining infrastructure projects in Canada, depending on where the site resides, with little regulatory oversight from the federal government. Therefore, national advocacy groups such as the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) have become key players in aligning mining companies’ safety and social responsibilities nationwide, and its Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) program helps guide participating companies on accountability, monitoring and tangible guidelines for health and safety compliance. A key pillar of the TSM health and safety program is training and educating employees on the shared responsibility of identifying hazards and putting in place the appropriate measures and controls.
Implementing a whistleblower platform
One measure that has helped mining companies across the globe to better support employee reports of safety concerns is whistleblower hotlines. Today, a whistleblower hotline—sometimes called an employee-complaint hotline or anonymous tip line—is more than just a phone line; it is an internal tool and resource for employees who feel a moral and legal obligation to report wrongdoing in the workplace.
The most effective reporting tools take a multi-channel reporting approach that allows reporters to choose the avenue in which they make the report, including audibly over the phone, by filling out an online intake form or by sending an email to a dedicated address. Once a report is received by either a dedicated internal administrative team or a secure third-party operative, the reports can be audited and prioritized by a level of urgency.
Cybersecurity technology and case management software advancements have made it easier to manage and streamline employee complaints and escalate them to the necessary stakeholders. Through these comprehensive and secure reporting platforms, employees and mining companies are better equipped to handle the multitude of issues that miners are susceptible to in their workplaces.
Whether managed internally or externally by a third-party operating service, the core principle of whistleblower hotlines is the anonymity feature, which helps to encourage employee use. Additionally, accessibility features such as being operational 24/7/365, being available in multiple languages, and being easy to use and train employees to use can help encourage proper use in the workplace.
All employees must be trained on how to use the reporting tools and when it is appropriate to make a report. With the many safety risks in the mining industry, training needs to be comprehensive so employees know how to detect early warning signs of safety issues and can make more proactive use of the reporting tool.
Be sure to test, audit and adjust your reporting tools according to the results as you begin implementing the technology. Scale them to the size of your organization and know when to outsource for support. Ensure that employee anonymity and safety remain at the heart of operations as you move forward.
Factoring in psychological safety
Understanding what makes employees feel psychologically safe is the first step to understanding how to foster safe workplace spaces. Psychological safety is defined as a shared belief and feeling of safety to take risks, say no and openly express opinions and concerns without fear of negative consequences. It is paramount that an employee feels psychologically safe in the moments when they are making the decision to speak up about a safety issue to ensure that the person will proactively act on a reportable safety incident such as harassment or potential physical danger. A solidified speak-up culture ensures psychological safety for all employees when using reporting tools such as whistleblower hotlines. [Find out how to foster a speak-up culture on here.]
A comprehensive anti-retaliation policy sets the tone for a company-wide speak-up culture. Anti-retaliation policies ensure that no employee is ostracized for reporting a safety incident, should the reporter’s anonymity not withstand the conditions of an investigation. A culture of anti-retaliation helps to encourage a speak-up culture that is rooted in values of transparency by management as well as accountability at all levels.
The Canadian mining industry is a vital component of our economy and serves as the workplace for hundreds of thousands across the nation. Ensuring this workplace is safe and employees feel comfortable speaking up when issues arise is of utmost importance for maintaining industry standards in line with MAC guidelines. Whistleblower hotlines and other anonymous reporting tools are just one mechanism that can help bridge compliance gaps between mining organizations and ensure every employee feels safe on-site.
Shannon Walker is the founder of WhistleBlower Security Inc. (WBS) and executive VP of strategy at Case IQ. WBS provides ethics, compliance and loss prevention hotlines, along with IntegrityCounts, a proprietary case management platform for organizations globally.
