On 14 May 2019, the Programme Advisory Committee of Better Work Vietnam officially endorsed the 10th Annual report of the Programme. This report draws on the findings of assessments conducted in 331 factories in Vietnam between 01 January 2017 and 30 June 2018. It presents a snapshot of non-compliance rates in a range of areas linked to working conditions and fundamental rights at work, and also provides factory-led insights into the key drivers of non-compliance, based on Better Work’s assessment and advisory work with enterprises.
The report also contains a thematic analysis chapter, with this year’s focus on Gender. This chapter uses Better Work compliance findings together with qualitative and quantitative information from a range of authoritative sources to build a picture of the gender situation in the garment industry in Vietnam today. It considers that must be overcome to ensure full and equal access to rights and opportunities for women and men throughout the sector.
During the reporting period, the compliance situation among the Better Work factories has seen significant improvement, as compared to the previous annual report. The common challenges are generally consistent with those of previous years. Compliance is generally high among core labour standards clusters, including child labour, forced labour and discrimination, with the exception of freedom of association and collective bargaining, wherein a significant number of factories still fail to ensure that union operations are free from management involvement. Most violations are found under the national law issues, with particularly high non-compliance in the areas of worker protection, overtime and OSH management systems.
Resolving these perpetual challenges requires the efforts of all stakeholders in the supply chain. To this end, Better Work Vietnam has cooperated closely with national agencies and industry partners through various initiatives to replicate its best practices among the participating factories and beyond.
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