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Improving working conditions in the ready-made garment sector Phase 2 (RMGP II) and Building responsible value chains in Asia through the promotion of decent work in... - Cluster evaluation

eval_number:

2743

eval_url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/eval/2743

lessons_learned:

themes:

theme:

Programme implementation

category:

Organizational issues

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comments:

Government, employers, and workers; The beneficiaries are the private industrial establishments themselves, as well as the workers working in these establishments.

challenges:

As this was a policy-focused initiative, RMGP II had little scope to stimulate interest and participation among RMG employees and entrepreneurs, and workers’ representatives. The Bangladesh Employers Federation (BEF) and the workers' organizations (NCCWE and IBC) were not involved in programme implementation though IndustriAll Bangladesh Council was involved with the BWB's awareness-raising initiatives.

success:

A culture of collaboration was built in the programme. This was more explicit in developing digitalized OSS for industrial safety, demonstrating the commitment of government ministries and agencies to workplace safety.

context:

Rana Plaza and other tragedies in 2013 attracted international attention and damaged the RMG sector’s credibility as a safe and socially complaint supplier to international brands in Europe, UK, and USA. This led to a range of commitments and interventions from the GoB and international buyers to support their supply chain factories to become safe and compliant with international labour standards. The ILO programme capitalized on these opportunities to strengthen the collaborative architecture and support evolution of a sectoral reform model.

description:

A successful sectoral reform model would essentially require a strong collaborative architecture, with a range of initiatives working with a common purpose even though modalities of implementation are different. Over the past 10 years and specifically during RMGP II (since 2017), the programme has developed strong collaborations with all the tripartite constituency responsible for the RMG sector. These collaborations are with the Government (Ministry of Labour and Employment, specifically DIFE), Employers Organisations (FBCCI, BGMEA, BKMEA) and Workers Organisations (WRC, trade unions). The programme has established good links with DIFE-NI, RSC, Nirapon and other initiatives, even though each has different modalities of implementation. The programme has also facilitated inter-ministerial linkages among BIDA, DIFE, BFSCD, RAJUK, and CDA, explored interlinkages between existing licensing services provisions and initiated the digitalized OSS for industrial safety. All this, together with the evidence presented in this evaluation report, provide a good indication of a successful reform model in the RMG sector in Bangladesh.

administrative_issues:

ILO programme design and implementation should explicitly ensure collaboration with the tripartite stakeholders in programme design, implementation, and monitoring. Clearly, the RMGP experience provides useful lessons for the ILO programme designers and decision makers for any future initiative aiming at sector-wide or country-wide reforms.

url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/lessons/232411

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location:

country:

Bangladesh

region:

Asia and the Pacific

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eval_title:

Improving working conditions in the ready-made garment sector Phase 2 (RMGP II) and Building responsible value chains in Asia through the promotion of decent work in... - Cluster evaluation