Building Capacity:

Providing training, seminars, briefings and publications

Providing training, seminars, briefings and publications that support suppliers to implement codes of conduct and help trade unions and NGOs to play the role they wish to in these processes.

ETI’s main activities in this area for 2006/2007 are as follows:

1. Developing training for site supervisors
2. Multi-stakeholder seminar re implementing labour rights in Colombian Flower industry.

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1. Developing training for site supervisors

One of ETI’s main activities in this area for 2006/2007 is the development of a tri-partite approved training programme for production site supervisors.

Aims of the training

• Improve supervisors ways of working to ensure that they are aware of and respect their rights and the rights of those they supervise
• Enable supervisors to encourage a culture of respect in the workplace, as well as prevent and handle discrimination and sexual harassment
• Ensure supervisors are aware of their day to day role in the implementation of workers' rights in practice.

The training will cover supervisors roles, rights and responsibilities. It will focus on equipping supervisors to improve their management of their colleagues, especially regarding discrimination and sexual harassment. These are the particular areas of the ETI Base Code which members have identified as needing support in implementing.

ETI is working with WIETA (see Supporting Local Organisations in Supplier Countries) to develop the training. ETI members formed a Supervisor Training Working Group here in the UK in June 2006. Together, the UK Group, WIETA staff and a WIETA committee in South Africa are developing the materials with some input from external experts. We are also creating a resource pack for trainees, managers and workers to use on their worksites after the training has been completed.

ETI staff visited WIETA in Cape Town in June 2007 to update plans, terms of reference and training materials for work over the coming year. We visited two farms to talk to supervisors about issues they face in their current supervisory roles, and are using this information to help shape the contents of the training.

Piloting the training

WIETA members and ETI UK members will be piloting the training provisionally in late 2007. The course will then be modified according to feedback. ETI members will then be able to adapt the finalised course for their own use. The project also includes plans for WIETA to run the course for 100 supervisors from different WIETA member worksites.

Which ETI members are involved?

Companies:
Betty’s and Taylor’s of Harrogate, Flamingo Holdings, Finlay’s Beverages, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, World Flowers

Trade Unions:
ETI TU Co-ordinator, Unite/IUF

NGOs:
Africa Now, CAWN (Central American Women’s Network), WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising), Dalit Solidarity Network.

For further information contact:

Pins Brown, Project Manager: pins@eti.org.uk.

Project documents

1. (None publicly available as yet.)

 

 

2. Multi-stakeholder Seminar re implementing labour rights in the Colombian flower industry, Bogotà April 2007

An ETI Flower Forum delegation visited Colombia from Sun 15 – Thurs 19 April. It was composed of representatives from producers (Flamingo Holdings; World Flowers) retailers (M&S; Tesco) trade unions (TUC; IUF) and NGOs (Oxfam) as well as of the ETI Secretariat. The delegation was also accompanied by two staff from UK-based NGO War on Want (not ETI members).

The delegation had three interesting visits around different types of flower farm; met with flower workers off site to hear about the reality of their daily working lives, and also held dinner meetings with NGO and TU colleagues.

The main purpose of the visit was to hold a multi-stakeholder seminar on the Colombia Flower Industry in order to:

• Support the industry commercially in the context of local stakeholders’ commitment to improving labour rights
• help promote mature industrial relations
• share lessons from ETI’s international experience on addressing labour rights in agriculture.

The seminar itself went well, with over 100 participants from all stakeholders, a contribution from the British Ambassador to Colombia as well as participation by relevant US groups working on Colombian floriculture. While concerns from some stakeholders still need to be addressed, all participants recognised the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining and to convene an ongoing platform for dialogue between employers, trade unions and NGOs with support from the ILO.

The ETI delegation felt that the visit was successful in

• Getting greater commitment from Colombian stakeholders to improving labour rights in floriculture
• Ensuring Colombian employers clear re importance of labour rights to UK business
• Creating more space for TUs and NGOs to work with producers, other stakeholders and together
• Sharing ETI lessons from South Africa and Kenya
• Ensuring Colombian stakeholders have greater understanding re working collaboratively to implement codes of conduct

In August 2007 ETI published a report of the event which is available in English and Spanish.

For further information please contact

eti@eti.org.uk

Project documents

1. Final report of ETI multi-stakeholder seminar on Colombia flower industry - 18 April, 2007
   also in Spanish:
   • Informe Final del seminario de la ETI con las partes interesadas del sector colombiano de floricultura - 18 de Abril, 2007

 

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