Better Work is a unique partnership programme between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Launched in February 2007, the programme aims to improve both compliance with labour standards and competitiveness in global supply chains.

Better Work involves the development of both global tools and country-level projects, with a focus on scalable and sustainable solutions that build cooperation between governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations and international buyers. Donor support also plays a large role in implementation of global and country-level activities.

Improving compliance with labour standards in global supply chains is an important part of a pro-poor development strategy. The protection of workers’ rights and entitlements helps distribute the benefits of trade to promote human, social and economic development. Compliance with labour standards can also help enterprises be more competitive through a variety of factors such as access to new markets and buyers and new sources of financing and credit, and can contribute to high productivity and quality. Better Work supports enterprises in implementing the ILO core international labour standards and national labour law.

• Better Work is developing practical tools to help enterprises improve their compliance with labour standards and increase their competitiveness.
  
• A global online portal designed with end users in mind. Information will be accessible by language, country and industry sector.  The portal will also support virtual communities of practice to involve stakeholders in programme development.
  
• A compliance assessment tool that measures compliance with core international labour standards and national labour law, benchmarking against industry averages and showing progress over time.
  
• Advisory services that provide guidance on remediation efforts addressing both non-compliance issues and management systems.
  
• Training resources including a 12-month modular training programme, single-issue seminars, induction training kits and first-level supervisor training.
  
• Innovative techniques to raise worker awareness, such as soap operas and comic books.
  
• Model policies and procedures, as well as good practice guides on a variety of common enterprise needs.
  
• STAR, an information management system that captures information on compliance and improvement efforts, and shares results with suppliers and their buyers. This system will also be adapted to support self-assessments, country programmes and public-sector labour administration.

A small global team supports the ongoing development and roll out of Better Work. Its job is to develop and support country programmes. The team is also responsible at the global level for managing impact assessment reporting, knowledge management, coordination, stakeholder engagement, ongoing quality assurance, resource mobilization, strategic management and policy advice. 

Country programmes typically combine independent enterprise compliance assessments with enterprise advisory and training services to support practical improvements through workplace cooperation. Using STAR, Better Work’s information management system, enterprises can share assessment information with their buyers. This in turn allows buyers to reduce their own auditing and redirect resources to fixing problems and focus on sustainable solutions. The key to success is the support of the relevant employers’ and workers’ organizations, the national government and international buyers.

The skills and reputation of Better Work trainers and enterprise advisors are critical to the success of the programme. At both the global and the national level, Better Work is establishing training programmes for trainers and enterprise advisors, a support network and a professional development programme for these target groups.

ILO and IFC work together to mobilize necessary resources for country projects. In addition, Better Work country programmes work closely with existing IFC and ILO initiatives, particularly those focusing on capacity building in the private sector, public-sector labour administration and employers’ and workers’ organizations.