Suporting worker participation in Vietnam
TUC Aid is supporting the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) programme in Vietnam to give workers a voice at the furniture factories supplying British companies, where low pay, poor lighting and ventilation are common.
The Ethical Trading Initiative brings together the TUC and international unions with companies and NGOs to promote respect for workers rights in global supply chains. Companies joining ETI agree to a ‘base code’ of nine core labour rights which include freedom of association, a living wage and safe working conditions. However, the audits companies use to establish whether these rights are being respected rarely reveal whether workers are able to have a say in their pay and conditions and may not pick up on abuses taking place.
The ETI programme in Vietnam is working with local unions affiliated to the Building Wood Workers' International global union, NGOs and UK companies to identify where labour rights are not being observed and how to improve the ability of workers to bargain for better pay and conditions. By showing factory managers the positive impact better industrial relations can have on productivity and business sustainability, we hope the project will ensure the base code is followed as a matter of course rather than policed through unreliable audits.
See more about the programme on the Stronger Unions blog here
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