Tyson Foods Inc

Tyson reports public information on the company's grievance mechanisms: its 24/7 hotline, "Ethics Help Line", and its online platform “TellTysonFirst.” The Ethics Help Line is publicly available on Tyson’s website. Tyson expressly condemns retaliation toward workers who report grievances. Company disclosure on both mechanisms indicates good accessibility and availability, including multiple language support and the option for anonymous reporting. However, FAIRR notes that the TellTysonFirst platform includes a statement that Tyson prefers workers to identify themselves, which could deter workers from reporting an issue when they wish to remain anonymous.

The company does not provide disclosure on how it evaluates the effectiveness of its grievance channel.

The company discloses that it received 13,953 total allegations in FY2022, of which 5,641 were reported through the company's Ethics Line. The company reports grievances across the following categories: corruption or bribery, discrimination or harassment, customer privacy data, conflicts of interest, money laundering or insider trading, health and safety, employment practices (employee matters), and other. Employment practices comprised 76% (10,546) of the total allegations received, with health and safety, other, and discrimination or harassment comprising 11% (1,546), 8.7% (1,207), and 8.6% (1,197) of the cases, respectively. The company does not specify what types of reports may fit into the broad “employment practices” category.

The company's public disclosure now clarifies that health and safety is a category covered by its grievance mechanisms. Further, users of the grievance channel are able report violations of the company’s code of conduct, which includes a respect for human rights.

Tyson discloses that grievance reports received through the Ethics Line are transferred to the Ethic & Compliance Department for assessment. The department will also assign an investigator or refer the grievance to a relevant Tyson team member for resolution. However, the company does not discuss further details of the investigation or resolution procedure, including how it substantiates reports or how it would determine appropriate remediation.

Tyson discloses its sick pay policy, which provides 20 hours of paid sick leave annually to fully vaccinated workers in its US operations. This policy does not apply to temporary or part-time workers, who instead can access short-term disability pay for “up to 13 weeks” after a five-day waiting period. The company does not report on its sick pay policy in operating markets outside the US.

The company does not disclose the other economic incentives it makes available to workers.

Tyson discloses the proportion of its US workforce in full-time (98.19%) and part-time (1.81%) positions for FY2022. It also reports that 10.89% of its US workforce is salaried, and 89.11% is paid hourly. However, the company does not report the size of its subcontracted workforce or details of its workforce outside the US.

The company reports that the Governance and Nominating Committee advises the Board on ESG matters affecting the company. However, it is unclear what specific information and/or data related to the workforce is reported to the Board.

Board-level representation Tyson does not disclose having direct or indirect worker representation at the board level. Internal committees Tyson reports having employee-led business resource groups responsible for assisting with diversity and inclusion. However, it does not disclose whether these groups are made up of elected representatives or how they function to represent worker issues. Tyson reports that many of its plants have safety and ergonomic committees in place, which include hourly employees. It is unclear whether committee members are elected by workers and how many sites have these committees in place. Dialogue with trade unions Tyson does not report evidence of regular union dialogues or disclose the size of its unionised workforce separately to CBA coverage.

Tyson Foods has operations in China where employee representation is restricted under law but does not comment on what alternative structures it makes available for worker representation.

The company reports that approximately 33,000 employees in the US and 6,000 employees outside the US were subject to CBAs as of Q4 FY2023. Tyson does not disclose a plant-by-plant breakdown of its workers’ CBA coverage, nor does it provide a country-specific breakdown of the CBA coverage of its non-US-based workers.

Automation Tyson reports expanding the digital monitoring of its production lines to allow for improved manufacturing data tracking and sharing across plants, with the aim of approved efficiency and productivity. Further, it states it is investing, through Tyson Ventures, in technologies that enhance traceability, worker safety, and automation. However, the company does not report having conducted a social risk assessment of the potential impacts of its automation strategy on its workforce. Climate risk Tyson has set SBTs across Scopes 1, 2 & 3 to reduce GHG emissions by 2030 in line with a 2°C warming scenario, which it has committed to resetting to align with 1.5°C. Further, the company reports working with cattle ranchers and crop farmers in its supply chain to encourage them through educational, technical, and monetary assistance to adopt “climate-smart” practices. However, Tyson does not disclose evidence of a social risk assessment on the impacts of its climate mitigation strategy on its workforce.

Tyson discloses that it conducted a materiality assessment in 2021 in consultation with core stakeholders, including salaried and hourly employees. However, whilst the materiality matrix covers sustainability issues, it is unclear if stakeholders were engaged on the social implications of the company's automation strategy and climate change mitigation strategy. It is also unclear whether this is a one-off consultation or will become a regular practice.

The company does not publicly state support for a Just Transition in the food sector.