Better Work Vietnam

Better Work is a unique global partnership program between the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Launched in February 2007, it aims to improve labor standards and competitiveness in global supply chains. Better Work involves the development of both global tools and country level projects, focusing on scalable and sustainable solutions which build cooperation between government, employer and worker organizations, and international buyers. In Vietnam, ILO and IFC have been working with Vietnamese stakeholders to develop the Better Work Vietnam proposal through a participatory design process. The objective of the proposed Better Work Vietnam project is to improve both compliance with labor standards, and enterprise performance in Vietnam’s export and labor-intensive industries in global supply chains. It will be implemented in a partnership between ILO and IFC in Vietnam, and will be funded by the IFC-managed Mekong Private Sector Development Facility (MPDF), whose donors include Australia, Canada, the European Union, Finland, IFC, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Better Work Vietnam is designed as a five-year project, with a pilot phase of two years and upon success, a second-phase of three years. It aims to improve conditions for some 150,000 workers in the pilot stage and up to 700,000 in five years. The project has three components: (1) enterprise assessments against (a) the principles of the ILO Declaration and Vietnamese labor law and (b) quality and productivity; (2) enterprise advisory and training services designed to support practical improvements; and (3) stakeholder engagement and sustainability. Better Work Vietnam will also develop a set of tools for the assessment and training services based on the Business Edge model of developing trainers and training partners. The majority of the developed materials will form core content for Better Work Global initiatives in countries around the world. Specifically, it will work to: (1) standardize and localize curriculum/ training materials for better workplace cooperation through modular training courses, single “issue” seminars, supervisors training and workers training. They will include the development of course curriculum/trainer manuals for course guides, lesson plans, power points, class activities, (e.g. case studies) handouts, trainer’s notes and training assessments; and (2) standardize and localize the assessment tools and (3) (a) develop “Train the Advisor” package to build the capacity of factory advisors to perform assessments and advisory services (b) Train the Trainer packages for training partners to deliver Better Work Vietnam training products. These two products will be new products for use in the Global Better Work roll out in other countries. To date, there have been two rounds of consultation in Vietnam (April and September 2007). In September, representatives of government ministries, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Vietnam Textiles and Apparel Association (VITAS), the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL) and international buyers participated in a seminar to provide feedback on the proposal which has been taken into account in this final draft project document. This includes the emphasis on both labor standards and competitiveness, consideration of scaling up to other industries and locations following the initial pilot phase, mechanisms for strong engagement with international buyers, emphasis on building local capacity for quality service delivery, sustainable cost recovery, emphasis on practical implementation of social dialogue at the enterprise level, and linkages with Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) capacity building. MoLISA, VCCI and VGCL will be closely involved in guiding the implementation process through a project advisory committee, and resources have been allocated

Project symbol

VIE/10/51/MUL

Admin unit

ED/DIALOGUE

Start date

01/08/2010

End date

30/06/2012

Total allocation

1372122

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

1372122

Development Partners

Multi-donor support for Better Work

Country/Countries

Viet Nam

Outcomes

Decent Work in Economic Sectors