Better Work Bangladesh Programme (BWB)

The Better Work Bangladesh programme (BWB) is a partnership between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), aims to contribute to improving the life of the workers, their families and their communities, and increase the competitiveness of the ready-made garment sector in Bangladesh.

Objectives

Better Work Bangladesh aims at building capacity at the factory and national structural levels, so that stakeholders will be able to identify, prevent, and address relevant problems through the most appropriate and effective means (tripartite, bipartite, individually).
  • Improve compliance with international core labour standards and national labour law and competitiveness in participating factories;
  • Build capacity of the factories to improve working conditions, productivity and quality through workplace cooperation and promote competitiveness in global supply chains.

Areas of operation

  • Factory-level: Build in-factory capacity to improve working conditions and establish management systems through assessment visits, advisory services and training.
  • National structural level: Assist in building constituent capacity to achieve structural, sustainable change in labour administration, industrial relations and social dialogue systems.

Approach

The Better Work approach is unique and differs from other CSR initiatives.
  • The partnership between the ILO and IFC gives the program an excellent, international reputation and expertise.
  • Better Work assesses both compliance with national laws and regulations and international labor standards defined by the ILO.
  • By supporting factories to comply with international and domestic labor standards Better Work helps raising competitiveness.
  • As a public sector, tripartite initiative Better Work’s main purpose is to build capacity and serve as a stimulus for the country’s development.
  • Better Work’s unique structure gives the program independence and neutrality.

For more information on Better Work country programmes, please visit betterwork.org