Union and Industry Leaders Support IFC/ILO Program to Improve Labor Standards

19 November 2008

The Better Work Program, a unique partnership between IFC and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to improve labor practices and competitiveness in global supply chains, received a major boost this month with resounding support from international trade unions as well as private industry.

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One of the largest and most influential conferences on sustainability, this year’s BSR Conference in New York brought together leaders from 50 countries representing labor unions, industry, government, and international development organizations.

During a plenary session entitled “A New Role for Union Leaders? The Sustainability Agenda at the Forefront,” a key

representative from the international union movement, President of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Sharan Burrow, pointed tothe Better Work Program to illustrate the success of corporate social responsibility. Specifically, she called out Better Factories Cambodia, the program that formed the basis for the Better Work partnership.

“We have seen fantastic outcomes. Wages are 30-35% higher than average incomes, there is high compliance with basic labor standards and rights… We understand now that this can work, and so we are now looking at expanding this to many other countries.”

Also speaking at the plenary session, Neil Kearney, General Secretary of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation, stated that the future of sustainability is about worker empowerment.

In his view, successful corporations prioritize labor conditions because they have found that bad working conditions go hand in hand with bad performance.

Speaking on quality, delivery, and productivity, Mr. Kearney added,

“What we need is to give responsibility back to the workplaces and have that overseen by mature systems of industrial relations...The Better Factories Program in simple terms began to work to raise standards in the industry, not just to carry out audits, but also to assist the industry to develop and to meet the standards, and to improve productivity, quality and the ability to deliver on time.”

Governing Body. Monika Weber-Fahr, Manager, IFC Sustainability Business Innovator Division, spoke at the event.

Private industry also spoke favorably about the Program.

Michael Kobori, Vice-President of Supply Chain Social and Environmental Sustainability at Levi Strauss & Co., said, “The private sector strongly supports Better Work for three reasons: it is effective, it is credible and it is transformational.” The Buyers Forum brings together large international buyers that procure significant volumes from the garment sector in developing countries.

Launched in 2007, Better Work is under way in two countries: Vietnam and Jordan. Plans are underway to launch Better Work in Haiti in the first half of 2009.