The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on July 30 officially launched Better Work Vietnam – their joint programme that aims to support apparel enterprises in southern provinces.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Programme Manager Tara Rangarajan said that the programme aims to help improve working conditions for more than 700,000 workers, enhance factory competitiveness in international markets and fortify factories’ compliance to labour laws.

“Better Work Vietnam looks forward to working as partners with Vietnamese apparel enterprises, workers, and the Government of Vietnam to make sustainable improvements in labour conditions,” she said.

Better Work Vietnam will provide various services, including assessments against international labour standards and national labour law, customised advisory services for enterprises, and a range of training options for managers, supervisors, and workers.

According to Nguyen Van Tien, Chief Labour Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs and Chair of Better Work Vietnam’s Project Advisory Committee, Vietnam is the first country to conduct the pilot Better Work programme.

“The programme is an important landmark, paving the way for continued cooperation activities by the ILO and IFC in terms of labour, employment, human resource development and corporate assistance in Vietnam, especially on this time when Vietnam has become an official member of the World Trade Organisation and its enterprises and workers are facing challenges from the global economic crisis,” Tien added.

In the initial stage, the programme will focus on apparel factories with more than 200 workers located in Ho Chi Minh City and its neighbouring provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Duong.

Better Work, a unique partnership between the ILO and the IFC, aims to improve labour standards and competitiveness in global supply chains. In Vietnam, the programme is supported by Australia, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland./.