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Objectives
The overriding objective of PROGRESS in the field of social compliance is to contribute to better understanding and application of the employment standards in Bangladesh’s Labor Law, since it incorporates all core requirements of the International Labor Organization and various international standards. The issues of health and safety, management-worker relations, wages and working hours are crucial to the sustainable growth of the RMG industry, which provides direct employment to some three million people.
PROGRESS is working to improve the social performance of the sector in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders.
- Public sector institutions are key to improving the general framework conditions. PROGRESS awareness raising and capacity building activities have supported the Government of Bangladesh in promotion and enforcement of the Labor Law.
- By enhancing the capacity of industry associations and private service providers, PROGRESS has encouraged the provision of quality advisory services in the field of social compliance.
- In partnership with local NGOs, PROGRESS has increased workers’ awareness of labor rights and responsibilities.
Achievements
The impact of the activities undertaken by this program component in the period July 2006-December 2009 can be summarized as follows:
- A significant increase in awareness and understanding among major stakeholders of mandatory social requirements enshrined in Bangladesh Labour Law and key international standards.
- More than 300 people have qualified as Master Trainers, and a range of training materials and extension aids have been developed and disseminated. In addition, 'social standards' has been introduced as a subject by national training and education organisations on a sustainable basis. Together, these activities have led to approximately 4,000 people qualifying as social compliance professionals.
- A marked improvement in the knowledge and understanding of rights and responsibilities among some 25,000 workers, contributing to better labour relations.
The combination of these achievements helped to increase social compliance in roughly 2,000 factories, improving the working and employment conditions of about 1.5 million garment workers. Importantly, the project made a contribution to enhancing the image of Bangladesh’s RMG sector – an important consideration for buyers from target markets. |
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