The ILO-IPEC project "Addressing child labour in the shrimp and seafood processing areas in Thailand" is organizing a consultation meeting with managers and HR personnel of TFFA on the development of the Good Labour Practices (GLP) training programme. The meeting follows a series of consultations with government, businesses and unions' representatives. It provides an opportunity for managers and HR personnel to discuss, share their views and provide technical inputs to the process and contents of the Good Labour Practices industry-driven training programme and associated advisory services. Discussions will ensure that knowledge on issues at the factory level is properly reflected and that views on how to extend good practices also at the level of suppliers are captured.

GLP programme is an initiative supported by the ILO-IPEC project “Addressing child labour in the shrimp and seafood processing areas in Thailand”. It is a joint effort that brings together the expertise from the Department of Fisheries, Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, TFFA, employers’ organizations and the workers' unions. The GLP initiative helps to establish preventive measures to address the issue of child labour and forced labour and promotes better working conditions and worker welfare in general while making the industry more productive and competitive.

The objective of this initiative is to develop a multimodular training programme that is supported by sets of guidelines and best practice sheets on good labour practices. The programme seeks to achieve a higher overall standard in factories through a combination of training on existing laws and regulation on labour and product safety and hygiene and on promoting best industry practices. This will be achieved through training of managers and workers over an 8 to 10 month period on principles relating selected topics. A set of training materials with supportive good practice brochures and information booklets on laws and regulation support this process. Some of these will be produced in several languages to respond to the needs of the migrant workers working in these enterprises.

The GLP programme aims to institute good labour practices manly at the primary processing and export factory levels by:

• Improving industry capacities to address labour issues through targeted training and capacity building services

• Creating better understanding of existing labour laws and regulations (equal playing field)

• Highlighting critical labour issues such as addressing child labour, forced labour and migrant rights and welfare.

• Developing a model enterprise concept as a voluntary overall benchmark for the industry to follow.

• Using the buyer and supplier relationship to drive positive change by harnessing the export factory to drive standards at the level of their small suppliers

• Working together with the industry including labour groups and the Government to assess potential for transparent reporting on working conditions, establishing complaint mechanisms and linking the GLP programme processes to existing certification and/or standard setting systems.

For further information, please contact:

Mr Tuomo Poutiainen
Programme Manager
Tel: +662-288-1789
Fax: +662-288-1019
Email

Ms Emanuela Pozzan
Technical Officer
Tel: +662-288-1724
Fax: +662-288-1019
Email