Social Partners at the Country Level

SOCIAL DIALOGUE

The main goal of social dialogue itself is to promote consensus building and democratic involvement among the main stakeholders in the world of work. Successful social dialogue structures and processes have the potential to resolve important economic and social issues, encourage good governance, advance social and industrial peace and stability, and boost economic progress. The key social partners that participate in programme design and implementation of Better Work country programmes are national governments, employers’ organizations and trade unions.

LABOUR ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT

Better Work’s assessment and advisory work identifies gaps in compliance with ILO core labour standards and national labour law using a scientific, credible approach that demonstrates a national commitment to transparency and accountability on labour rights.

Government has a critical role to play in the success of Better Work, particularly through its leadership role in supervision of the National Technical Steering Committee, validation of the data collection instrument and sanctioning of standards violations.

In return, ministries of labour can benefit from increased inspection capacity achieved through participation with the Better Work programme. Labour inspectorates are partnering with country programmes to strengthen enforcement of the national labour law, through shadowing of Better Work enterprise advisors and exchanging techniques for monitoring and documenting violations of the national law.

HOW DO ENTERPRISES BENEFIT?

Better Work seeks to realize increased industry access to markets and credit through demonstration of labour standards compliance and enhanced reputation. Reduced worker turnover, more effective management and supervisory skills, and compliance with labour standards can also lead to improved productivity and quality.

Using , Better Work’s information management system, enterprises can share reliable compliance information with their buyers. This in turn allows buyers to reduce their own auditing and redirect resources to fixing problems, focusing on sustainable solutions. For businesses, fewer and better-quality audits reduce costs and risk in supply chains.

HOW DO WORKERS BENEFIT?

Better Work also seeks to realize increased respect for and protection of workers’ rights, better working conditions, improved productivity and greater job security. The programme creates opportunities for workers to participate in addressing problems identified at the workplace. And it ensures a place for unions in sectoral- and national-level discussions of topics such as how to improve industrial relations and share the benefits of trade.

TOWARDS MATURE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Better Work is contributing to the development of meaningful structures and processes for the development of mature industrial relations it its country programmes.

Better Work’s Project Advisory Committees (PACs) bring ministries of labour and trade together with industry and investors’ associations, as well as national- and sectoral-level trade unions, to advance social dialogue in practical ways. The PAC is a forum for promoting not only the interests and competitiveness of the industry, but also practices and policies that will improve working conditions. In this respect, the PAC provides an opportunity for trade unions to actively participate and advocate for changes for their members and workers across the industry.

At the factory level, gaps in compliance identified through assessments are addressed by a Performance Improvement Consultative Committee (PICC), a bipartite body of 8–10 persons comprising an equal number of management and worker representatives. Where possible, the formation and capacity development of the PICC builds on a factory’s existing effective labour management structures. The PICC, which oversees the factory improvement plan, also provides a forum for management and workers to share responsibility and accountability for developing solutions to a wide range of compliance issues.