The first annual report from Better Work Uzbekistan provides an overview of its key activities and highlights results from compliance assessments conducted between April and October 2024.

Better Work is an innovative partnership programme of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The programme aims to improve working conditions and competitiveness in global supply chains. Better Work operates at multiple levels, including working with sector stakeholders in several national country programme contexts.  Uzbekistan represents a new frontier in the programme’s expansion, becoming the 13th Better Work country programme in 2023. The programme focuses on scalable and sustainable solutions that build cooperation between government, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and international brands.

As in other country contexts, Better Work Uzbekistan (BWU) follows an integrated approach that includes assessment, advisory, and training sessions at the factory level, and engagement with industry stakeholders through seminars to promote cross-industry sharing and promote a learning and continuous improvement culture. Better Work Uzbekistan collaborates closely with national tripartite constituents – the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction of Uzbekistan, the Confederation of Employers of Uzbekistan, and the Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan – to improve working conditions in the textile and apparel sector. These tripartite partner groups also provide strategic guidance and oversight of the programme through participation in BWU’s Project Advisory Committee (PAC). The programme also directly engages business partners, including international brands, vendors, and trade associations in the sector.

This annual report, the first from BWU, shares highlights of the programme’s key initial developments, and it discloses aggregate results of the first round of compliance assessments conducted by the programme. The results from compliance assessments offer a snapshot of results from assessments completed in BWU participating firms – a small subset of the firms making up the Uzbekistan’s large textile and apparel sector. Insights into compliance and working conditions have been drawn from nine on-site factory assessments conducted between April to October, 2024. The results offer a basis for reflection for sector stakeholders and can be considered an input into strategic discussions as the programme expands.