ILO to launch campaign to improve productivity and competitiveness of small and medium-sized companies in Makassar

To assist SMEs to be more productive, competitive and sustainable, the International Labour Organization (ILO) will conduct a workshop entitled, “Effective Ways, Tips and Tricks to Achieve High-Productivity in SMEs”, on Tuesday, 6 November, at Grand Clarion Hotel, Makassar. The Makassar launch is a follow-up to the national launch which was held in Jakarta on 1 November.

Press release | Jakarta, Indonesia | 05 November 2012

MAKASSAR (ILO News): Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make a major contribution to growth and job creation in Indonesia, providing 60 per cent of employment opportunities for both women and men. The key to sustainable economic development also lies in the development of SMEs that are competitive, resilient, and can continue to grow, even when market conditions are difficult.

SMEs can often be more flexible, innovative, and responsive to market demands than larger enterprises. However, their small size also makes SMEs particularly vulnerable to external shocks. So, in Indonesia, as in many other countries, SMEs have been finding it difficult to sustain operations in recent years due to, among other challenges, the new ASEAN China free trade area agreement.

To assist SMEs to be more productive, competitive and sustainable, the International Labour Organization (ILO) will conduct a workshop entitled, “Effective Ways, Tips and Tricks to Achieve High-Productivity in SMEs”, on Tuesday, 6 November, at Grand Clarion Hotel, Makassar. The Makassar launch is a follow-up to the national launch which was held in Jakarta on 1 November.

Those attending the workshop will be introduced to enterprise practices that can help the potential of SMEs to create employment in Indonesia. The workshop will also serve as an introduction to the considerable benefits of responsible workplace practices for the productivity and competitiveness of SMEs, particularly for SMEs in Makassar.

The workshop will be conducted by the ILO, through its Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) programme. Launched in 2010, the ILO-SCORE programme is designed to help SMEs in Indonesia to boost quality and productivity, improve working conditions, and reduce their environmental footprint. In particular, it introduces SMEs to the productivity gains that can come from improvements in workplace collaboration and improved communication between employers and workers.

The workshop also marks the launch of the ILO-SCORE campaign to promote the importance of co-operation between workers and management as a source of mutual prosperity. The campaign, “Sukses Milik Bersama” will be conducted in Jakarta and Makassar and aims to improve enterprise practices and enhance teamwork in the workplace.

“ILO is keen to support the efforts of Indonesian SMEs, including SMEs in Makassar, to compete and continuously improve their overall performance, despite the economic challenges they face. The campaign particularly aims to increase awareness of the fact that worker-manager cooperation and productivity go hand-in-hand. Cooperation costs nothing but can bring concrete benefits to enterprises, including quality and productivity increases, improved motivation, and reductions in work accidents and sickness absence. This is a key message that we want SMEs to take away from the campaign.” said Michiko Miyamoto, Deputy Director of the ILO in Indonesia.

As part of this campaign, a variety of communications tools will be used. In addition to the distribution of posters, brochures and flyers, radio talk shows and public service announcements will also be aired, to raise the awareness of all involved in SMEs of the good workplace practices that are easy to apply. The campaign will also use interactive social media, through twitter and facebook accounts: @SCORE_Indonesia and Score Indonesia, respectively. These social media accounts will be a source of important information and links to the campaign and also provide an interactive forum for SME owners, managers and workers to share experiences and relevant information.

The responsible workplace practices being promoted through this campaign have already been widely adopted by top international companies and, over the last two years, they have been successfully applied in Indonesian SMEs, with the assistance of the ILO-SCORE programme.

The ILO-SCORE programme is funded by Funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD). The programme is also supported by the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, the Indonesian Employers’ Association (Apindo), national trade union confederations and the Dharma Bhakti Astra Foundation. Indonesia has been chosen as one of the seven countries where the global SCORE programme is being rolled out. The programme is also active in India, China, South Africa, Ghana, Viet Nam, and Colombia.

For further information please contact:

Mr Januar Rustandie
National Programme Manager of ILO-SCORE
Tel.: +6221 3913112 ext. 118
Email

Fasrul
National Programme Officer of ILO-SCORE
Tel.: +6221 3913112 ext. 162
Email

Gita Lingga
Media Officer of ILO Jakarta
Tel.: +6221 3913112 ext. 115
Email