NewsletterSTORIES FROM THE SUPPLY CHAIN & BEYOND ISSUE 1, 2020

We asked 10 questions to a garment worker to discover her stories

Stories behind the clothes we wear

A closer look at the growth and triumph of a BWB partner factory over the past few years

Towards new frontiers of compliance

Helping female workers climb the career ladder through Gender Equality and Returns (GEAR) initiative

GEAR: 79 female workers promoted to supervisors

Industry stakeholders met at BWB's annual event in October to discuss issues critical for the sustainability of the RMG industry

BETTER WORK BUSINESS FORUM

BWB’s Integrated Advisory Workshops continue to build industry capacity

INTEGRATED ADVISORY WORKSHOPS

BWB partnered with H&M to offer a better understanding of sexual harassment and the prevention mechanisms in light of the High Court Verdict

INDUSTRY SEMINAR ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT PREVENTION

The promotion of sound Industrial Relations practices is a key dimension of our work in the industry

STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIPS WITH TRADE UNIONS

BWB partnered with the Sustainable Apparel Forum (SAF) 2019 held in Dhaka on 5 November

PARTNERING FOR SUSTAINABILITY

BWB organised an Industry Seminar on Boiler Safety on 10 October

PROMOTING BOILER SAFETY

3

Mor

e st

orie

s ba

sed

on in

terv

iew

s fr

om a

cros

s th

e su

pply

cha

in c

an b

e fo

und

on B

ette

r Wor

k w

ebsi

te w

here

new

inte

rvie

ws

will

be

post

ed re

gula

rly.

MES

SAG

E FR

OM

TH

E P

RO

GR

AM

ME

MA

NA

GER

Dea

r frie

nds

and

colle

ague

s,

We

hope

20

19 h

as

been

a g

ood

year

for

you.

Our

focu

s on

su

stai

nabi

lity

has

defi

ned

our a

ctiv

itie

s in

20

19, a

s it

will

co

ntin

ue t

o do

so.

B

WB

’s s

usta

inab

ility

st

rate

gy s

ees

cons

titu

ents

and

the

pr

ivat

e se

ctor

as

bein

g in

the

driv

ing

seat

and

def

inin

g th

eir o

wn

vers

ion

of s

usta

inab

ility

. Gov

ernm

ents

, em

ploy

ers

and

wor

kers

are

all

elem

ents

of t

he s

ame

stru

ctur

e th

at s

usta

ins

and

furt

her i

mpr

oves

co

mpl

ianc

e w

ith

the

Labo

ur L

aw a

nd c

ore

labo

ur

stan

dard

s th

roug

h en

forc

emen

t an

d in

dust

rial

rela

tion

s. T

he ri

ght

tool

s, fr

amew

ork

and

min

dset

to

ensu

re t

hat

good

wor

king

con

diti

ons

are

stan

dard

in

the

indu

stry

are

ess

enti

al t

o th

is p

roce

ss, a

s ar

e re

spon

sibl

e bu

sine

ss p

ract

ices

acr

oss

the

supp

ly

chai

n. T

his

appr

oach

gui

des

our c

onsu

ltat

ions

, kn

owle

dge

shar

ing

and

capa

city

-bui

ldin

g in

itia

tive

s at

ent

erpr

ise,

sec

tor a

nd n

atio

nal l

evel

.

We

look

forw

ard

to w

orki

ng w

ith

you

in 2

020

.

Ann

e-La

ure

Hen

ry-G

rear

dP

rogr

amm

e M

anag

erB

ette

r Wor

k B

angl

ades

h

32

25 INTE

RN

ATIO

NA

L B

RA

ND

S A

ND

RET

AIL

ERS

54%

FEM

ALE

WO

RK

ERS

242

FACT

OR

IES

552K

WO

RK

ERS

1 3 5 7 9

WH

AT

IS Y

OU

R F

AV

OU

RIT

E IT

EM O

F C

LOTH

-IN

G?

DES

CR

IBE

IT T

O U

S A

ND

TEL

L U

S W

HY

IT

IS Y

OU

R F

AV

OU

RIT

E?

I lov

e Sa

ree,

esp

ecia

lly t

he re

d on

es. I

hav

e at

le

ast

five

red

Sare

es. I

love

thi

s ga

rmen

t be

caus

e it

giv

es y

ou a

n el

egan

t lo

ok a

nd

prov

ides

end

less

mat

chin

g po

ssib

iliti

es.

WH

AT

AR

E Y

OU

R P

LAN

S F

OR

TH

E W

EEK

-EN

D/

YO

UR

DA

Y O

FF

?

Wee

kend

s ar

e fu

n! I

cook

spe

cial

dis

hes

ever

y w

eeke

nd. I

als

o tr

y to

spe

nd m

ore

tim

e w

ith

my

husb

and

and

my

eigh

t-m

onth

-old

da

ught

er. S

omet

imes

we

go f

or s

hopp

ing,

vis

it

rela

tive

s an

d at

tend

wed

ding

s!

DES

CR

IBE

THE

CLO

THES

/SH

OES

YO

U H

AV

E M

AD

E O

R H

ELP

MA

KE

TOD

AY

?

Cur

rent

ly, w

e ar

e m

akin

g la

dies

sw

eate

rs o

n ou

r pr

oduc

tion

line

. Mad

e fr

om v

ery

high

-qua

lity

knit

fab

ric, t

his

burg

undy

sw

eate

r loo

ks a

nd

feel

s ve

ry c

omfo

rtab

le.

IF Y

OU

CO

ULD

CH

AN

GE

ON

E TH

ING

AB

OU

T W

HER

E Y

OU

WO

RK

, WH

AT

WO

ULD

IT B

E?

I wis

h w

e ha

d fl

exib

le w

orki

ng h

ours

in o

ur

fact

ory.

WH

O D

O Y

OU

AD

MIR

E M

OST

IN T

HE

WO

RLD

?

My

pare

nts.

The

y ar

e al

way

s re

ady

to c

atch

me

whe

n I f

all.

2 4 6 8 10

WH

AT

DO

ES A

TY

PIC

AL

DA

Y O

F W

OR

K

LOO

K L

IKE

FO

R Y

OU

?

I arr

ive

at w

ork

by 7

:30

am

. The

n I l

ook

at t

he

day'

s ta

rget

and

get

to

wor

k by

8:0

0am

. I l

ove

to

wal

k in

the

law

n of

the

fac

tory

and

han

g ou

t w

ith

colle

ague

s du

ring

lunc

h br

eak.

I us

ually

don

’t m

iss

my

trag

et a

nd f

inis

h m

y w

ork

in t

ime.

WH

AT

IS T

HE

BES

T TH

ING

AB

OU

T Y

OU

R

JOB

? A

ND

TH

E W

OR

ST?

I get

to

mee

t ne

w p

eopl

e he

re. A

s a

Par

tici

pati

on

Com

mit

tee

(PC

) mem

ber,

it a

lso

feel

s go

od t

o be

ab

le t

o he

lp o

ther

s. T

he w

orst

thi

ng a

bout

my

job

is t

hat

I hav

e to

get

up

early

in t

he m

orni

ng!

IF Y

OU

CO

ULD

ASK

TH

E P

ERSO

N W

HO

EN

DS

UP

WEA

RIN

G T

HIS

ITEM

OF

C

LOTH

ING

A Q

UES

TIO

N, W

HA

T W

OU

LD

IT B

E?

Do

you

like

this

dre

ss?

I hop

e yo

u lo

ve t

his

dres

s as

muc

h as

I di

d m

akin

g it

.

HO

W D

O Y

OU

TY

PIC

ALL

Y S

PEN

D Y

OU

R

WA

GES

?

My

sala

ry is

mos

tly

spen

t on

hou

sing

and

foo

d.

But

I sa

ve s

ome

mon

ey f

rom

my

sala

ry e

very

m

onth

. I h

ave

alre

ady

boug

ht a

pie

ce o

f la

nd in

m

y ho

met

own.

I am

sav

ing

to b

uild

a h

ouse

on

the

land

.

WH

AT

AR

E Y

OU

R P

ERSO

NA

L A

MB

I-TI

ON

S/D

REA

MS

FO

R T

HE

FU

TUR

E?

My

drea

m is

to

give

my

daug

hter

the

bes

t ed

ucat

ion

poss

ible

so

that

she

can

live

a h

appy

an

d su

cces

sful

life

.

Ther

e ar

e m

any

stor

ies

behi

nd e

ach

piec

e of

clo

thin

g w

e w

ear.

We

aske

d 10

que

stio

ns t

o A

yesh

a A

khte

r Naz

ma,

a T

rimm

ing

Ope

rato

r at

SQ C

elsi

us L

td lo

cate

d in

Gaz

ipur

, Dha

ka.

“I h

ope

you

love

thi

s dr

ess

as m

uch

as I

enjo

yed

mak

ing

it”

STO

RIE

S B

EHIN

D O

UR

CLO

THES

SQ G

RO

UP

AN

D B

WB

: TO

WA

RD

S N

EW F

RO

NTI

ERS

OF

CO

MP

LIA

NC

E

The

stor

y of

Bet

ter W

ork

Ban

glad

esh

and

SQ G

roup

beg

an in

Mar

ch 2

015

.

Bac

k th

en, t

he f

ledg

ling

loca

l bra

nch

of t

he U

N p

rogr

amm

e w

as t

akin

g it

s fi

rst

step

s ac

ross

Ban

glad

esh’

s ga

rmen

t se

ctor

, the

sec

ond

larg

est

in t

he

wor

ld, a

ccou

ntin

g fo

r 6.5

per

cent

sha

re o

f th

e gl

obal

app

arel

mar

ket.

SQ

G

roup

was

alre

ady

a so

lid e

ntre

pren

euria

l rea

lity

in t

he c

ount

ry. S

till,

the

co

mpa

ny f

elt

som

ethi

ng w

as m

issi

ng in

its

day-

to-d

ay d

ynam

ics

acro

ss

Bac

ked

by y

ears

of

inte

rnat

iona

l res

ults

, Bet

ter W

ork

laun

ched

its

oper

atio

ns in

Ban

glad

esh,

con

fide

nt o

f it

s co

re m

essa

ge t

hat

com

plia

nce

shou

ld n

ot b

e co

nsid

ered

a m

ere

oblig

atio

n, b

ut a

bus

ines

s ne

cess

ity

that

m

akes

fac

torie

s m

ore

com

peti

tive

.

This

was

the

phi

loso

phy

SQ w

as lo

okin

g fo

r.

wha

t w

e ne

eded

. It

was

cru

cial

for u

s to

wor

k w

ith a

pro

gram

me

that

cou

ld h

elp

us re

ach

com

mon

ly-s

hare

d st

anda

rds

to

impr

ove

and

mon

itor o

ur p

erfo

rman

ce, e

spec

ially

on

soci

al

com

plia

nce

and

the

soci

al a

rea

of t

he b

usin

ess

at la

rge.

”

One

of t

he le

adin

g ap

pare

l man

ufac

ture

rs in

the

cou

ntry

, SQ

G

roup

has

bee

n op

erat

ing

for t

he p

ast

26 y

ears

, ini

tially

pr

oduc

ing

knitt

ed s

wea

ters

for i

nter

natio

nal b

uyer

s an

d la

ter

addi

ng li

nger

ie a

nd s

hirt

s to

its

port

folio

.

Its

wor

k ha

s be

en g

row

ing

in s

ize

and

qual

ity o

ver t

wo

deca

des.

W

hat

bega

n w

ith a

n in

itial

wor

kfor

ce o

f 150

kni

ttin

g op

erat

ors

has

grow

n to

enc

ompa

ss 18

,00

0 e

mpl

oyee

s pr

oduc

ing

clot

hing

in

the

com

pany

’s d

iffer

ent

faci

litie

s. A

ll th

e gr

oup’

s fa

cilit

ies

are

curr

ently

aff

iliat

ed w

ith B

WB

.

“Bac

k in

20

15, e

ach

bran

d w

e w

orke

d w

ith h

ad s

peci

fic m

etho

ds

to a

sses

s co

mpl

ianc

e,”

Abi

d sa

ys. “

Diff

eren

t or

gani

zatio

ns u

sed

to c

arry

out

spe

cific

aud

its. B

ut t

his

was

not

hel

ping

us

brin

g re

al, s

usta

inab

le im

prov

emen

t to

the

way

we

man

aged

our

pe

ople

and

to

soci

al c

ompl

ianc

e.”

Hel

ping

eac

h fa

ctor

y de

velo

p its

ow

n ca

paci

ty is

the

ulti

mat

e po

wer

of B

ette

r Wor

k, A

bid

says

, add

ing

the

prog

ram

me

does

n’t

help

fact

orie

s to

face

aud

its, r

athe

r it

mak

es t

hem

aw

are

of t

heir

own

resp

onsi

bilit

ies

and

prep

ares

the

m t

o be

hel

d ac

coun

tabl

e fo

r the

ir ow

n ac

tions

.

One

of t

he k

ey m

anuf

actu

ring

units

of t

he g

roup

, SQ

Cel

sius

Lt

d., s

how

s th

e su

cces

s of

thi

s fa

ctor

y-ba

sed

Cop

erni

can

Rev

olut

ion.

Mea

nwhi

le, a

bsen

teei

sm h

as re

duce

d by

1.5%

, wor

ker t

urno

ver

rate

has

dec

reas

ed b

y 0

.5%

, and

the

ave

rage

con

trac

t le

ngth

ha

s al

so in

crea

sed.

Wor

kers

hav

e be

com

e m

ore

com

mitt

ed,

star

ting

to s

ee c

aree

r pro

spec

ts w

ithin

our

org

aniz

atio

n. T

hese

im

prov

emen

ts h

ave

refle

cted

on

the

over

all c

ompa

ny’s

pr

oduc

tivity

.

BW

B h

as c

ondu

cted

a s

erie

s of

tra

inin

g an

d se

min

ars

in S

Q C

elsi

us L

td. o

ver t

he y

ears

, to

uchi

ng o

n su

perv

isor

y sk

ills

enha

ncem

ent,

sk

ill d

evel

opm

ent,

gri

evan

ce m

echa

nism

s,

com

mun

icat

ion

in t

he w

orkp

lace

and

m

ater

nity

pro

tect

ion.

“Tha

nks

to B

WB

, wor

kpla

ce

com

mun

icat

ion

amon

g ou

r 3,

40

0 w

orke

rs, m

anag

emen

t,

mid

dle

man

agem

ent,

ass

ocia

tes

and

oper

ator

s va

stly

impr

oved

. W

e ha

ve c

reat

ed a

n en

viro

nmen

t w

here

peo

ple

feel

fre

e to

sha

re

thei

r tho

ught

s an

d su

gges

tion

s.

The

fact

ory

has

even

tual

ly

beco

me

self

-rel

iant

in t

erm

s of

co

mpl

ianc

e.”

War

isul

Abi

dC

hief

Peo

ple

Off

icer

SQ G

roup

TOW

AR

DS

NEW

FR

ON

TIER

SO

F C

OM

PLI

AN

CE

min

imis

e th

e di

srup

tion

caus

ed b

y th

e te

chno

logi

cal

prog

ress

acr

oss

the

indu

stry

.

The

grou

p ha

s al

read

y ca

rrie

d ou

t w

ork

in t

his

dire

ctio

n.

Still

, mor

e ef

fort

s ar

e ne

eded

to

tran

sfor

m t

oday

’s a

nd

tom

orro

w’s

Ban

glad

eshi

wor

kfor

ce, A

bid

says

.

BW

B a

nd it

s pa

rtne

rs a

re c

urre

ntly

cal

ling

on lo

cal

fact

orie

s to

enh

ance

tra

inin

gs t

o pr

epar

e w

orke

rs t

o fa

ce

the

auto

mat

ion

proc

ess

Ban

glad

esh

is w

itnes

sing

to

mak

e th

e in

dust

ry s

usta

inab

le in

the

long

ter

m.

As

one

of t

he la

rges

t sw

eate

r man

ufac

ture

rs in

the

co

untr

y, t

he k

nitt

ing

depa

rtm

ent

of S

Q C

elsi

us L

td. i

s fu

lly

com

pute

rised

. In

the

past

, one

ope

rato

r use

d to

run

a si

ngle

mac

hine

, tod

ay t

he s

ame

oper

ator

runs

ten

.

“We

guid

ed o

ur w

orkf

orce

thr

ough

thi

s pr

oduc

tion

chan

ge

and

boos

ted

our t

rain

ing

cent

re t

o he

lp w

orke

rs a

cqui

re

furt

her s

kills

for t

he n

ew t

echn

olog

ical

env

ironm

ent,

even

tual

ly c

reat

ing

mul

titas

king

ope

rato

rs,”

Abi

d sa

ys.

“Thi

s, in

tur

n, h

as im

prov

ed t

heir

empl

oyab

ility

and

ea

rnin

g po

tent

ial.

Thos

e w

ho a

re n

ot m

anag

ing

to a

dapt

ha

ve b

een

mov

ed t

o di

ffer

ent

area

s of

pro

duct

ion

that

st

ill re

quire

man

ual w

ork.

”

Ope

rato

r Md

Shaj

ahan

Mia

say

s he

has

see

n hi

s fa

ctor

y be

com

ing

incr

easi

ngly

eff

icie

nt t

hank

s to

enh

ance

d te

chno

logy

and

aut

omat

ion

over

the

yea

rs.

He

is o

ne o

f the

aro

und

40

0 w

orke

rs w

ho h

ave

been

tr

aine

d to

ope

rate

on

a fu

lly a

utom

ated

pro

duct

ion

line.

H

is s

ectio

n’s

prod

uctiv

ity h

as in

crea

sed

up t

o si

x tim

es

follo

win

g au

tom

atio

n, h

e sa

ys. H

ighe

r eff

icie

ncy

and

prod

uctiv

ity m

eans

a h

ighe

r sal

ary,

lead

ing

the

oper

ator

to

eve

ntua

lly ra

ke in

a m

onth

ly s

alar

y of

USD

th

e pr

evio

us U

SD16

5.

Wor

kers

say

the

ir im

pact

is p

alpa

ble.

Trim

min

g op

erat

or A

yesh

a A

khte

r N

azm

a ha

s be

en w

orki

ng in

SQ

C

elsi

us L

td. f

or t

he p

ast

nine

yea

rs.

Her

hus

band

als

o w

orks

her

e.

“Sin

ce t

he la

unch

of B

WB

in o

ur

fact

ory,

wor

kers

hav

e st

arte

d to

in

crea

sing

ly e

ngag

e in

ope

n di

scus

sion

s w

ith t

he m

anag

emen

t,”

she

says

. “I’v

e se

en a

tra

nsfo

rmat

ion

in t

he w

orke

r-m

anag

emen

t re

latio

nshi

p ov

er t

he p

ast

four

yea

rs.

This

hel

ped

narr

ow t

he

com

mun

icat

ion

gap

with

in t

he

fact

ory.

It a

lso

help

ed u

s co

mm

unic

ate

our d

eman

ds m

ore

Naz

ma

is a

lso

a m

embe

r of t

he

fact

ory’

s P

artic

ipat

ion

Com

mitt

ee

(PC

), th

e re

pres

enta

tive

wor

ker-

man

agem

ent

body

BW

hel

ps

esta

blis

h in

side

its

affil

iate

d fa

ctor

ies.

The

PC

of S

Q C

elsi

us L

td.

rece

ntly

sug

gest

ed t

he m

anag

emen

t im

prov

e its

drin

king

wat

er

appl

ianc

es b

y en

surin

g th

e

Imm

edia

te a

ctio

n w

as t

aken

to

mee

t th

e w

orke

rs’ d

eman

ds. L

iqui

d so

ap

has

been

add

ed t

o al

l res

troo

ms,

w

hile

ele

ctro

nic

hand

dry

ers

have

re

plac

ed o

veru

sed

tow

els.

Em

ploy

ees

have

als

o be

en

lam

entin

g th

e ab

senc

e of

ATM

m

achi

nes

in t

he fa

ctor

y’s

prox

imity

. Fo

llow

ing

the

PC

’s re

ques

t, a

new

on

e ha

s be

en s

et u

p in

col

labo

ratio

n w

ith a

loca

l ban

k.

Ope

rato

r Sah

anaj

Akh

ter,

28, s

ays

she

has

beco

me

the

vice

-pre

side

nt

of t

he fa

ctor

y’s

Safe

ty C

omm

ittee

fo

llow

ing

BW

B t

rain

ings

.

Akh

ter p

roud

ly s

ays

the

fact

ory

is

now

als

o gr

antin

g “s

peci

al le

ave”

for

thos

e w

ho h

ave

suff

ered

a

wor

kpla

ce in

jury

. Thi

s ty

pe o

f lea

ve

does

n’t

affe

ct t

he w

orke

r’s re

gula

r le

ave,

like

sic

k, c

asua

l or a

nnua

l va

catio

n.

SQ G

roup

’s A

bid

says

the

co

oper

atio

n w

ith B

WB

has

boo

sted

w

orke

rs’ c

onfid

ence

and

put

the

“The

fac

tory

is a

ver

y fa

st-p

aced

en

viro

nmen

t. It

can

be

very

st

ress

ful a

nd, b

ecau

se o

f th

is, w

e ca

n m

iss

out

on c

erta

in t

hing

s.

But

BW

B h

elps

us

focu

s on

are

as

that

we

som

etim

es o

verlo

ok

amid

our

hec

tic

acti

vity

. Its

su

ppor

t ch

ange

s an

d ad

apts

to

the

mar

ket’

s ne

w d

eman

ds. I

t is

a

stro

ng a

lly t

o ha

ve t

o re

ach

new

and

am

biti

ous

mar

ket

goal

s.”

War

isul

Abi

d C

hief

Peo

ple

Off

icer

SQ G

roup

pers

onal

ly a

nd p

rofe

ssio

nally

. I a

m n

ow m

ore

conf

iden

t in

com

mun

icat

ing

wit

h ot

hers

. We

esta

blis

hed

wit

h th

e m

anag

emen

t’s

supp

ort

grie

vanc

e m

echa

nism

pro

cedu

res

to a

ddre

ss

wor

kpla

ce v

iole

nce

issu

es, a

mon

g ot

hers

. I f

eel

prou

d to

be

able

to

cont

ribut

e to

the

eff

orts

to

build

a h

appy

and

saf

e w

orkp

lace

.”

Saha

naj A

khte

rO

pera

tor

SQ C

elsi

us L

imit

ed

mac

hine

s, e

ach

prod

ucin

g an

ave

rage

of

30

0 p

iece

s a

day,

aga

inst

a

max

imum

of

10 p

rodu

ced

man

ually

.

4

BW

B B

usin

ess

Foru

m 2

019

: Sus

tain

abili

ty

in B

angl

ades

h’s

RM

G s

ecto

rA

roun

d 35

0 re

pres

enta

tives

from

the

G

over

nmen

t, fa

ctor

ies,

bra

nds,

de

velo

pmen

t or

gani

satio

ns, e

mpl

oyer

or

gani

satio

ns, t

rade

uni

ons

and

deve

lopm

ent

part

ners

gat

here

d at

B

ette

r Wor

k B

angl

ades

h B

usin

ess

Foru

m in

Dha

ka o

n 2

Oct

ober

to

disc

uss

a w

ide

rang

e of

issu

es c

ritic

al fo

r the

gr

owth

and

sus

tain

abili

ty o

f the

ga

rmen

t in

dust

ry. D

iscu

ssio

ns c

entr

ed

on t

he n

eed

for a

glo

bally

com

petit

ive

garm

ent

indu

stry

sup

port

ed b

y im

prov

ed la

bour

mar

ket

gove

rnan

ce,

effe

ctiv

e so

cial

dia

logu

e an

d re

spon

sibl

e so

urci

ng p

ract

ices

to

ensu

re d

ecen

t w

ork

and

gene

rate

long

-ter

m p

rosp

erity

for

the

indu

stry

. Lea

rn m

ore

abou

t th

e ke

y hi

ghlig

hts

of t

he B

usin

ess

Foru

m.

Bet

ter W

ork

Ban

glad

esh

orga

nise

d fiv

e In

tegr

ated

Adv

isor

y W

orks

hops

in 2

019

to

str

engt

hen

its c

olla

bora

tion

with

pa

rtne

r fac

torie

s an

d co

ntrib

ute

to t

he

esta

blis

hmen

t of

a c

ondu

cive

in

stitu

tiona

l set

ting

for i

mpr

oved

co

mpl

ianc

e in

aff

iliat

ed fa

ctor

ies.

Aro

und

500

par

ticip

ants

from

100

fact

orie

s at

tend

ed t

he w

orks

hops

. The

day

long

w

orks

hops

focu

sed

on s

uppo

rtin

g fa

ctor

ies

to fu

rthe

r im

prov

e ca

paci

ty in

th

e ar

ea o

f Grie

vanc

e M

echa

nism

, D

isci

plin

ary

Pro

cedu

res,

Che

mic

al

Man

agem

ent,

Occ

upat

iona

l Saf

ety

and

Hea

lth M

anag

emen

t an

d H

uman

R

esou

rces

Man

agem

ent.

Bet

ter W

ork

Ban

glad

esh

cont

inue

s to

str

engt

hen

colla

bora

tion

with

Tr

ade

Uni

ons

to p

rom

ote

stro

ng

indu

stria

l rel

atio

ns in

the

gar

men

t se

ctor

. On

3 N

ovem

ber,

BW

B

orga

nise

d a

wor

ksho

p w

ith t

rade

un

ions

und

er t

he N

atio

nal

Coo

rdin

atio

n C

omm

ittee

for

Wor

kers

Edu

catio

n (N

CC

WE

) to

crea

te a

bet

ter u

nder

stan

ding

of

Bet

ter W

ork

and

its w

ork

and

disc

uss

way

s to

wor

k m

ore

clos

ely

to p

rom

ote

stro

ng in

dust

rial

rela

tions

in g

arm

ent

fact

orie

s.

Ano

ther

day

long

wor

ksho

p w

as

orga

nise

d w

ith t

rade

uni

ons

unde

r th

e In

dust

riALL

Ban

glad

esh

Cou

ncil

on O

ctob

er 2

3. T

he

obje

ctiv

e w

as t

o bu

ild m

ore

colla

bora

tion

and

unde

rsta

ndin

g of

our

sha

red

goal

of e

nsur

ing

stro

ng a

nd e

ffec

tive

indu

stria

l re

latio

ns in

the

gar

men

t se

ctor

.

BW

B p

artn

ered

with

the

Su

stai

nabl

e A

ppar

el F

orum

(SA

F)

2019

hel

d in

Dha

ka o

n 5

Nov

embe

r to

hel

p fa

cilit

ate

a m

eani

ngfu

l ex

chan

ge o

f kno

wle

dge

to

dem

ystif

y is

sues

sur

roun

ding

the

su

stai

nabi

lity

of B

angl

ades

h's

garm

ent

indu

stry

. Pre

sent

ing

the

keyn

ote

spee

ch a

t th

e ev

ent,

BW

B

Pro

gram

me

Man

ager

Ann

e-La

ure

Hen

ry-G

réar

d af

firm

ed t

he

prog

ram

me'

s st

rong

focu

s an

d co

mm

itmen

t to

driv

ing

sust

aina

ble

chan

ge in

Ban

glad

esh'

s ga

rmen

t in

dust

ry. “

Exp

erie

nce

from

the

B

ette

r Wor

k pr

ogra

mm

e ac

ross

ni

ne c

ount

ries

show

s th

at

sust

aina

ble

chan

ges

and

impr

oved

w

orki

ng c

ondi

tions

ben

efit

wor

kers

an

d th

eir f

amili

es, e

vent

ually

dr

ivin

g hi

gher

pro

fitab

ility

for

man

ufac

ture

rs o

ver t

ime,

” sh

e sa

id.

Par

tner

ing

for

sust

aina

bilit

ySt

reng

then

ing

pa

rtne

rshi

ps w

ith

trad

e un

ions

BW

B’s

Inte

grat

ed

Adv

isor

y W

orks

hops

co

ntin

ue t

o bu

ild

indu

stry

cap

acit

y

79 G

EAR

-tra

ined

fem

ale

wor

kers

pr

omot

ed t

o su

perv

isor

sA

tot

al o

f 79

fem

ale

sew

ing

mac

hine

ope

rato

rs w

ere

prom

oted

to

supe

rvis

ory

role

s in

12 M

&S

supp

liers

fact

orie

s as

par

t of

the

G

ende

r Equ

ality

And

Ret

urns

(GE

AR

). G

EA

R is

a s

peci

al in

itiat

ive

of B

ette

r Wor

k B

angl

ades

h an

d th

e In

tern

atio

nal F

inan

ce

Cor

pora

tion

(IFC

) to

prom

ote

care

er p

rogr

essi

on o

ppor

tuni

ties

for

fem

ale

wor

kers

in t

he g

arm

ent

sect

or. R

olle

d ou

t in

20

16, t

he

initi

ativ

e w

as s

cale

d up

and

a t

otal

of 1

06

fem

ale

sew

ing

oper

ator

s w

ere

trai

ned

in 2

019

to

impr

ove

thei

r ski

ll se

t so

tha

t th

ey c

an s

tep

up t

o su

perv

isor

y ro

les.

Mea

nwhi

le, B

WB

's fa

ctor

y se

rvic

es h

ave

been

hel

ping

to

crea

te a

sup

port

ive

and

enab

ling

envi

ronm

ent

to

bett

er s

uppo

rt t

he c

aree

r pro

gres

sion

opp

ortu

nity

opp

ortu

nitie

s fo

r the

fem

ale

wor

kers

. GE

AR

so

far c

over

ed 5

4 fa

ctor

ies

(28

in t

he

pilo

t ph

ase

and

26 in

20

19).

In 2

020

, GE

AR

is e

xpec

ted

to e

nrol

an

othe

r 25

fact

orie

s.

Sexu

al h

aras

smen

t pr

even

tion

: Ind

ustr

y Se

min

ar o

n H

igh

Cou

rt

verd

ict

BW

B in

col

labo

ratio

n w

ith H

&M

org

anis

ed a

n In

dust

ry S

emin

ar o

n 10

Oct

ober

on

the

Hig

h C

ourt

Ver

dict

on

Sexu

al H

aras

smen

t P

reve

ntio

n. A

roun

d 4

0 p

artic

ipan

ts,

incl

udin

g 33

mid

-lev

el o

ffic

ials

from

23

garm

ent

fact

orie

s at

tend

ed t

he e

vent

. The

se

min

ar w

as d

esig

ned

to g

ive

part

icip

ants

a

bett

er u

nder

stan

ding

of d

iffer

ent

form

s of

se

xual

har

assm

ent

and

the

prev

entio

n m

echa

nism

s in

ligh

t of

the

Hig

h C

ourt

V

erdi

ct. T

he IL

O’s

rece

ntly

ado

pted

co

nven

tion

to c

omba

t vi

olen

ce a

nd

hara

ssm

ent

in t

he w

orkp

lace

aim

s to

bol

ster

ef

fort

s to

pre

vent

sex

ual h

aras

smen

t in

the

w

orld

of w

ork.

BW

B h

as b

een

help

ing

garm

ent

fact

orie

s ad

dres

s se

xual

har

assm

ent

by p

uttin

g in

to p

lace

ade

quat

e sy

stem

s to

m

anag

e an

d ad

dres

s co

mpl

aint

s, t

rain

ing

and

prom

otin

g fe

mal

e su

perv

isor

s an

d fa

cilit

atin

g m

eani

ngfu

l wor

ker-

man

agem

ent

dial

ogue

with

fairl

y-el

ecte

d re

pres

enta

tives

.

Pro

mot

ing

boile

r saf

ety

BW

B o

rgan

ised

an

Indu

stry

Sem

inar

on

Boi

ler S

afet

y on

10

Oct

ober

. App

roxi

mat

ely

50 p

artic

ipan

ts fr

om B

WB

par

tner

fa

ctor

ies

and

serv

ice

prov

ider

org

anis

atio

ns a

tten

ded

the

sem

inar

as

wel

l as

Eng

inee

r Md.

Zia

ul H

oque

, Dep

uty

Chi

ef

Insp

ecto

r of B

oile

rs. B

oile

rs, i

f not

pro

perly

mai

ntai

ned,

are

a

high

risk

to

safe

ty in

gar

men

t fa

ctor

ies

and

cont

ain

expl

osiv

e pr

oper

ties.

Boi

ler s

afet

y is

one

of t

he k

ey a

reas

of o

ur fo

cus

on

Wor

kpla

ce S

afet

y an

d H

ealth

(OSH

) in

garm

ent

fact

orie

s.

98

Better Work is a partnership between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). On-the-ground in eight countries across three continents, Better Work brings together all levels of the garment industry to improve working conditions and respect of labour rights for workers, and boost the competitiveness of apparel businesses.

Better Work Bangladesh is supported by the following donor partners:

betterwork.org/where-we-work/bangladesh

facebook.com/betterworkbangladesh

twitter.com/Better_Work

For regular updates, case stories and latest programme updates, visit our websiteand follow us on social media.