Better Work Viet Nam: Our services

Basic Rights and Responsibilities

Building on Modules 1 and 2, this final module in the IR series is designed to promote better understanding of the role of collective bargaining in securing lasting improvements to working conditions and workplace relations, and help key factory personnel develop the skills required to drive effective bargaining processes in their factories. By the end of the course, learners will have a clearer understanding of how to identify bargaining priorities and approach bipartite negotiations in good faith. They will also gain new insights into effective negotiation skills and tactics, and understand how they fit together into a due process for finalizing and ratifying a high quality collective bargaining agreement.

This popular course provides participants with important knowledge of the roles and importance of an effective payment system, together with a range of industry-relevant techniques to apply when developing one. By the end of the course participants will have the skills and know-how to establish base salaries, bonus schemes and benefit policies, as well as review factory compensation and benefits practices, to identify challenges and to design a suitable improvement plan to make the system work more effectively in their factory. Participants will be able to define the roles and importance of an effective payment system, apply key principles to the establishment of base salaries, bonus schemes and benefit policies, review factory compensation, payment and benefits practices, to identify challenges and design an appropriate improvement plan.

Factory Ambassadors are factory compliance staff and workers’ representatives who are empowered to have greater ownership in the factory’s improvement process. Ambassadors play a key role alongside our team to ensure Better Work support to factories continues. Participants of this programme are coached and trained to strengthen their knowledge, competencies and skills to bring long-lasting changes to their workplace, using tried and tested Better Work tools and techniques.

This topic is important for the workers to:

• Understand the importance of managing their money and keeping financial records.
• Understand the benefits of making a budget and how to stay within budget.
• Understand what debt means and how to avoid it.
• Know different saving services and the pros and cons of each of them.
• Know how to make a savings plan.

Fire Safety

To provide a consistent understanding of Gender concepts and recommendations on policies development as well as gender responsive activities in the workplace. Cung cấp cách hiểu thống nhất về một số khái niệm cơ bản về Giới, biết cách xây dựng chính sách và thực thi các hoạt động có cân nhắc các yếu tố giới tại nơi làm việc.

This second module in the IR series aims to enable management, worker, and trade union representatives at enterprise level to:

• Recognize the importance of developing a systematic approach toward conflict resolution in the enterprise.
• Investigate and resolve grievances at the lowest possible level in the enterprise.
• Evaluate current grievance mechanisms and identify performance gaps for system improvement.
• Identify root causes of industrial disputes and understand procedures for disputes under Vietnamese law.

Sound Human Resource Management (HRM) is essential for a productive and compliant factory. The investment of human and financial resource is crucial for a motivated and productive workforce. This training is designed to provide participants with an in depth knowledge of highly functioning HR systems.

Bipartite Training Participants on this course will have a better understanding of industrial relations and the ways in which rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining can operate in practice at the workplace. They can also be able to identify good practices that they can use to prevent and resolve workplace disputes and come to common understandings. Participants can also be able to understand appropriate channels through which to discuss and resolve issues at workplace level.

Good Occupational Health & Safety (OSH) is good for business. This course builds awareness of OSH as an integral part of factory management. Focusing on a preventative approach to OSH including risk mapping, it guides participants to spot hazards, meet national and international standards and the understand the role of the OSH committee.

This important course helps shed light on some of the most problematic aspects of the labour law for garment manufacturers, and provides a range of instructions and real life insights on how to understand and apply the law more effectively and ensure both compliance and good labour standards. Topics such as contracts, working hours, and payments are covered by the course, together with all the latest updates on new decrees and circulars and what they mean for businesses in the industry. By end of the course, participants will also have an opportunity to discuss and raise questions of their current implementation of the law at the factories with other participants and the trainer.

The course is designed to provide participants with an overview of the basic Lean Manufacturing principles for the garment and footwear industry. Taking the training, participants will know how to apply tools, methods, and techniques of Lean to make positive impacts on the productivity.

This course aims to support factory managers to understand more about their roles and responsibilities and how to strengthen their influence and impact through better leadership. The course will help install greater confidence and professionalism in middle managers through practical instruction and guidance in important areas such as management styles and techniques, effective managerial communication, coaching skills, managing conflict, listening, and providing feedback.

This course is aimed at boosting understanding of the different practical approaches to conflict management in factory context, with a core focus on the the role of negotiation. Participants will be guided through practical exercises which will demonstrate the role and value of negotiation in reaching mutually acceptable resolution of conflicts in day-to-day factory settings. The course covers key sessions on how –and in what form conflicts and disputes can arise, as well as their root causes, before exploring how proven negotiation techniques can bring win-win solutions for parties in conflict. Throughout the course, learners will interact with practical and relevant case studies from the industry for discussion and role play.

This course is designed to:

Offer important information and guidance on the current legal context for OSH, and its implications for garment and footwear factories

Develop learners’ skills in root cause analysis for occupational safety and health issues, as well as their ability to implement preventative measures for key OSH hazards (e.g. worker protection, chemical handling, machinery use, and fire and electrical safety)

Facilitate practical learning and application of OSH management principles through industry-relevant case studies and good practices

Occupational Safety and Health is the single biggest area of non-compliance in the garment industry in Vietnam. Almost 90 per cent of factories have failings in terms of emergency preparedness, while more than 8 in 10 garment factories do not have an adequate OSH management system. This course will enable factories to develop responses to these challenges by applying root cause analysis and integrated prevention measures to a range of OSH hazards, including worker protection, chemical handling, machinery use, and fire and electrical safety. The course will also provide important guidance and updates on the revised Work Safety Law and its relevant decrees and instructions for the garment industry. Participants on this course will gain a thorough understanding of the importance and challenges of OSH in the workplace, together with the policies and practices to better manage OSH issues for continuous factory improvement. They will also be updated relevant Work Safety Law and instructions of how to bring the Law into OSH practices at factories.

Bipartite Training

Worker Training

This specially designed course aims to help participants to recognize there are different forms of sexual harassment in the workplace, understand why sexual harassment is prevalent in garment factories, its impacts on the working environment and especially the factory’s productivity. Taking the training also helps participants to develop strategies to address and prevent sexual harassment, steps to deal with cases of sexual harassment at factories. This course is specially designed for middle managers. Participants on this course will know how to identify forms of sexual harassment, understand why sexual harassment is prevalent in garment factories worldwide, understand how sexual harassment impacts workers, understand steps to remember when dealing with cases of sexual harassment, and have access to the sexual harassment policy for information on the required steps to take in light of sexual harassment cases.

Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment (Management and Supervisory)+B24

Country Specific Training Participants on this course will be able to describe what productivity is and how it contributes to efficient and sustainable business. They will also be able to apply techniques and tools to measure and improve productivity, as well as to design effective productivity action plans.

This specially designed course will give managers and other factory personnel a clear overview of productivity in the garment sector context, how it is measured and what practical measures can be taken in the workplace to enhance it. By taking this course, participants will be able to identify their own productivity challenges, and identify ways to develop workforce skills and workplace methods and organization to enable (greater) productivity gains.

This course aims to provide participants all key important of quality management at the garment factories, starting from the basic of total quality management to specific quality control approaches that can be effectively applied for garment factories. In addition to defining the role and importance of quality in the factor (including key quality objectives and the roles and responsibilities of management and workers in the process), participants will be coached on how best to establish quality-oriented policies and systems-based approaches to quality, including those pertaining to inspection and audit, product care and quality management, stock control and quality manuals.

Part of a three part series providing a roadmap to better Industrial Relations, this first introductory module offers factory participants the chance to deepen their knowledge and obtain practical tools necessary to start transforming the IR culture and everyday practice in their factory. Learners in this course will be encouraged to reflect upon current IR practices in Vietnam and explore ways in which these can be improved these by applying tools and techniques linked to four key principles: representation, communication, trust building and good faith negotiation. At the end of the course, worker and management representatives should be better equipped to represent their respective constituencies effectively and work collaboratively with one-another to resolve both interest and rights-based issues in the workplace. This module provides a strong foundation for progression to Module 2 in the Industrial Relations Series, which focuses on Grievance Mechanisms.

This specially designed course aims to help participants to recognize there are different forms of sexual harassment in the workplace, understand why sexual harassment is prevalent in garment factories, its impacts on the working environment and especially the factory’s productivity. Taking the training also helps participants to develop strategies to address and prevent sexual harassment, steps to deal with cases of sexual harassment at factories. During the course of the training, participants will watch the clip “Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace” developed by Better Work Vietnam. By end of the training, participants will receive posters of “Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace” designed and printed by Better Work Vietnam.

SST has been proven to increase the productivity of lines supervised by trained female supervisors, as it reduces the time needed to reach production targets, resulting in a 22 % increase in productivity.
Major topics which we cover through this training are:

• Supervisors’ roles and responsibilities
• Types of supervisor
• Steps to influence
• Positive attitude
• Integrity
• Management styles
• Giving job instructions
• Correcting poor performance
• Resolving conflicts
• Managing workers

This course blends core materials from the standard Supervisory Skills Training (SST) course with essential training tools and facilitation techniques so that participants can become trainers for other supervisors in their own factories. This course is highly recommended for factories who want to develop the internal capacity to deliver their own SST training to supervisors. By taking this course, participants will have an opportunity to practice facilitation training of the SST and receive feedback for improvements from the experienced trainer and other participants.

Management and Supervisory Training

ToT on Occupational Safety and Health

This course blends the core materials from the standard Sexual Harassment Prevention course with the essential training tools and facilitation techniques so that participants can be able to deliver the similar trainings for other participants at their factories. This course also aims to support factories with their training plan of sexual harassment prevention for all workers, especially factories used to have issues of sexual harassment. Taking this special course, participants will have good opportunities to practice facilitation training of the Sexual harassment prevention and receive feedbacks from the experienced trainers and other participants. This course is suitable for any participants who have already attended the public course on “Sexual harassment prevention” provided by Better Work Vietnam. Taking the training, at the end of the course, participants will receive the training resource package including the Presentation, the Trainer Manual, the Handouts, Animations, Code of Conduct of Sexual Harassment Prevention and Posters. All these training resources are developed by Better Work Vietnam for our public training.

The training aims to help participants to have the overall understanding of Better Work Vietnam program and PICC’s roles with the program. Participants will be well aware of PICC’s specific roles and responsibilities of individual members who are either trade union or management representatives. Participants will be equipped with communication skills, problem solving skills and know how to organise an effective PICC meeting at factories.

This training provides guidance and tools on the essential elements of an effective induction training program at factories, which will enable factories to help improve team integration, reduce worker turnover rates and workplace conflicts. The course will equip participants with knowledge and skills of how to define appropriate training methodologies and identify suitable facilitation skills for worker induction training. This training covers 7 key topics with specific instructions on how to apply the learner-centered training approach and the training kit for trainers: Job, Starting a job, On the job, Resolving conflicts, Workplace safety, Harassment and discrimination, Child labor and forced labor.

After completing this training, participants will:

• Have a broader understanding of HIV and AIDS
• Have more knowledge of protective measures
• Have more knowledge of preventive measures
• Get to know the Better Work Team

This training course helps shed light on some of the most problematic aspects of the labour law for garment manufacturers, and provides a range of instruction and real life insight on how to understand and apply the law more effectively and ensure both compliance and good labour standards. Issues such as contracts, working hours, and payments are covered by the course, together with all the latest updates on new decrees and circulars and what they mean for businesses in the industry. Participants on this course will have a better understanding of the Law, especially the application of decrees and circulars. They will also know how to resolve key and common issues of wage payments, working hours and contracts for workers in accordance with the Law.

By taking this course, participants will both enhance their understanding of the core principles of effective workplace cooperation (the what, the why and the how), and gain new tools and approaches that they can apply to improve relations among workers and between workers and management. With a focus on developing essential communication skills as the backbone of effective cooperation, the course will explore the various communication styles used in the modern garment factory, and examine how to overcome common misunderstandings and barriers in communication and develop a systematic approaches to workplace cooperation.