ETI Annual review 2005/2006 – The power of partnership

Creating strategic alliances for change

This year we helped promote systemic change to workers’ conditions by playing a key role within alliances: to develop shared approaches to code implementation; to help forge a national strategy for the garment industry in Bangladesh; and to stamp out abuses of migrant workers in the UK food industry.

Developing shared approaches to codes

There is a pressing need to improve suppliers’ understanding of the standards they are asked to comply with, a situation complicated by the use of different codes. This year we continued to work jointly with five other workers’ rights initiatives from the EU and the USA to develop a shared approach to implementing labour codes and so provide clarity for suppliers.

The Joint Initiative on Corporate Accountability and Workers’ Rights (JO-IN) focuses on the Turkish garment industry, where we have agreed a draft common code and protocol for factory assessments. Pilot factory assessments are due to start by December 2006. The next stage of the project will be working with brands, suppliers and other stakeholders to explore the most effective methods of improving labour practices in the key areas of trade union rights, working hours and wages.

• Find out more at: www.jo-in.org

Forging a national strategy for change in Bangladesh

Bangladesh potentially faces huge job losses in its garment industry as a result of the phase-out of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA). In 2005, stakeholders agreed to develop a strategy to mitigate its worst effects and improve productivity by driving up labour standards as a means of enhancing international competitiveness. Success will depend on the continued support of all those involved in the sector: government, manufacturers, civil society and companies sourcing from Bangladesh.

This year, ETI played a key role within a wider alliance, the MFA Forum, to help build the strategy, and convened and chaired a group of companies committed to supporting it. Already, all the companies involved have agreed to use the JO-IN Code with their Bangladeshi suppliers.

• Find out more at: www.mfa-forum.net

Protecting migrant workers in the UK food industry

In 2002, ETI convened a unique cross-industry alliance, the Temporary Labour Working Group (TLWG), to lobby the Government to introduce statutory licensing for temporary labour providers (‘gangmasters’) and to create a voluntary code to help improve labour practices ahead of licensing. Our goal of licensing was realised in October 2006 when the Gangmaster Licensing Act came into effect and it became an offence for labour providers to UK food and agriculture to operate without a valid licence.

In early 2006 we steered the TLWG’s engagement with policy makers over the extent of the Act’s coverage, and after weeks of intensive lobbying, gained agreement from the Government that it will provide comprehensive protection for workers across the entire food industry. We also helped labour providers prepare for licensing. The TLWG carried out 465 audits of labour providers and, as the conditions for licensing are heavily based on the TLWG’s voluntary code, the overwhelming majority of these labour providers improved to a level where they satisfied the licensing requirements of the newly-created Gangmaster Licensing Authority.

• Find out more at: www.ethicaltrade.org/d/tlwg2006