Promoting Labour Standards in Global Production: Selected ILO Experiences

1. Promoting Labour Standards in Global Production: Selected ILO Experiences Anne Posthuma International Institute for Labour Studies, ILO

2. Fair Globalization • Fair Globalization – where business is profitable and sustainable & Decent Work is promoted • Promoting labour standards in global production • Business cannot do this alone (BSR, 2006) • Building collaborations, where formal institutions and regulations are weak and poorly enforced, via projects and programmes, provide technical expertise to promote social dialogue and ILSs • Challenge to contribute systemic improvements, includes strengthening public services, functioning of regulatory and institutional frameworks, voice and rep. of workers

3. ILO-Supported Private Sector Initiatives • Hybrid model – monitoring plus incentives, awareness-raising, training, remediation, technical expertise to build capacity • Contributing to fill regulatory deficits and lead to productivity-enhancing and DW-enhancing local institutions • Spanning factory-level, targeted campaigns, sectoral partnerships, Chambers of Commerce, national government, global supply chains

4. Selected ILO-Supported Initiatives • Factory Improvement Programme (VN, SL, India) • Raise factory competitiveness through improved working conditions, in-factory consultations • Protective equipment for workers, reduce quality rejects, decrease absenteeism • Factory-based, hard to work below first-tier firms • IPEC initiatives • Targeted sectors, area-based • Partnerships • Scope expanded to include other labour issues and approaches

5. Cocoa industry and stakeholders (W.Africa) • Harken-Engel Protocol of 2001, set timetable to eliminate child and forced labour • In 2002, partnership formed International Cocoa Initiative, multistakeholder forum • Between 2002-2006, initiatives spread to cocoa & agricultural sectors in 5 other African countries • Sialkot Soccer Ball Initiative • 1997, ILO, UNICEF, Sialkot CCI • Early example of voluntary industry collaboration with multilaterial agencies and key stakeholders to address labour rights in GSCs • Beyond child labour to include all Core Labour Standards • Strengthen government inspection, promote SD

6. Volkswagen (GTZ) • Improve working conditions in VW’s supply chain in South Africa, Mexico and Brazil • Partnership with VW suppliers & labour inspection to ensure legal compliance • SMEs to improve prod’y and workplace practices • Better Factories Cambodia • Export licenses tied to ILO monitoring, created level playing field, to build up labour inspectorate • Monitoring, remediation, training – improve. cycle • Dialogue between government, employers, workers, buyers • Expired trade agreement - project became self-financing, operating via CSR rather than incentives • Project hand-over to Cambodian gov’t in 2009

7. Better Work Programme (ILO & IFC) • Improve labour standards, competitiveness in GSCs export apparel sector in Jordan Lesotho, VN (1.2 million workers) • Redefines labour standards compliance in GSCs, sustainable solutions in countries • Enterprise compliance with national law, access new, more stable contracts with buyers • Set of global tools to be developed • Global monitoring & eval. framework • Assessment results reported publicly, to buyers • Broad SD - employers’ orgs., workers’ orgs., national government and international buyers (establish national tripartite industry scheme) • Training & capacity building, institutional strengthening

8. Better Work Labour admin & inspection Enterprise assessments Training and capacity building Sustainability and engagement employer & union capacity building Industry-based scheme Enforcement Social Dialogue

9. Partnerships • Building capacity to fill regulatory deficits and lead to productivity-enhancing and DW-enhancing local institutions • Developing tools • Learning from successful experience to scale up • Harnessing spillovers • Build key elements to achieve sustainability