|
|
 |
Social Dialogue:
Strengthening Social Dialogue at the sectoral level
National initiatives for improving the competitiveness in the textiles, clothing and footwear (TCF) sectors by promoting decent work
Owing to their global nature, the TCF industries are highly susceptible to the pressures of international competition. Those pressures have increased over recent years, with the dismantling of the Multifibre Arrangement and the abolition of the associated quota systems since 2004. This general opening up of the TCF markets particularly affected the most vulnerable developing countries, which no longer have quotas and must therefore boost their TCF production, with a greater emphasis on quality and competitiveness. These changes impact on the long-term viability of enterprises, alter parameters of competitiveness and influence developments in employment and labour practices. In this context, it was important that efforts to improve competitiveness be set within an appropriate framework that takes into account not only economic factors but also the social factors that increasingly determine the competitive position of enterprises at the international level.
Given the growing importance of the social factors in competitiveness in the TCF sectors and the convergence of those factors with the ILO’s strategic objectives, the ILO developed an overall strategy to improve competitiveness in the TCF sectors by promoting decent work. This strategy was initially tested within the framework of an integrated action programme launched in 2004-05, comprising a limited number of countries (Morocco, Romania and the Philippines).
The approach that was developed in each of the selected countries emphasized the social factors that are crucial to competitiveness in their interdependence with the economic aspects of development.
The overall objective was, in each country, to develop a coordinated and integrated approach to improving productivity and competitiveness by strengthening social dialogue at the sectoral level and at the level of the enterprise and promoting decent work.
The main purposes were:
- To elaborate an economic and social “survey” of the TCF industries to identify the key economic and social determinants in competitiveness;
- To establish in each country a Tripartite Steering Committee to monitor the project;
- To develop a sectoral Plan of Action to be implemented with the support of the ILO, by the Tripartite constituents concerned.
The Action Programme was finalized in 2007 and the approach is currently replicated in other countries (Tunisia, Egypt).
Useful links/resources
|
|
|
