Better Work Bangladesh - Design and Beyond

Since the 1980s, the Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry in Bangladesh has grown exponentially. The industry is now ranked sixth largest in the world, achieved in a very short time span. The number of export-oriented garment factories has grown from a number of 9 in 1979 to today more than 5,200. In addition to the substantial contribution to the economy, socially it has also been significant, primarily as a source of employment for approximately three and a half million workers, mostly women. When the industry grows in such a rapid manner, there exist significant challenges around a range of labor standards compliance issues. While child labor has diminished in recent years, due to concerted efforts from the government and international community including the ILO, evidence indicates that substantial challenges exist with regards to other core labor standards in law and in practice. In addition, industrial relations, social protection standards, occupational safety, minimum wage enforcement and other labor issues will also need to be addressed urgently. There is rising interest of various stakeholders in seeing a Better Work program operating in the RMG industry in Bangladesh, based on the program’s successful interventions in the industry through establishing a number of country programs worldwide. In response, ILO and IFC carried out a feasibility study to assess whether BW can develop a successful full-fledged project in the Bangladesh RMG industry. The outcomes of the study revealed the country’s economic and political complexity as well as other challenging national circumstances, and warned of a range of operational risks to a potential program. However, the study ultimately concluded in favor of establishing a program there, proposing various options for mitigating the key risks. Better Work management therefore decided to proceed to a participatory design stage but advocated establishing a second decision point following the design stage in light of new information learned and a re-assessment of the situation at that time. The current proposal presents in detail the key objectives, outputs and activities of the participatory design phase (the Design Phase). The main objectives of the Design Phase are: 1). Stakeholders will fully understand the Better Work program, endorse its goals and objectives demonstrate their commitment, and concretize their endorsement by actions. Particular attention will be given to establishing a number of thresholds that various stakeholders would need to commit to as Better Work’s entry criteria; 2). Better Work Bangladesh is designed to meet specific and measurable objectives to improve labor standards and competitiveness in the RMG industry; and 3). The technical ground of program implementation will be established.

Project symbol

BGD/12/50/USA

Admin unit

CO-Dhaka

Start date

01/11/2011

End date

31/12/2020

Total allocation

2747901

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

2747901

Development Partners

USA, United States Department of Labor, Bureau for International Labor Affairs, Office of Trade and Labor Affairs

Country/Countries

Bangladesh

Outcomes

Outcome 1: Strong tripartite constituents and influential and inclusive social dialogue