Building stronger workplaces through partnership

Ismailia, Egypt (ILO News) - Establishing a new factory means more than installing production lines. It means building the systems, policies and workplace culture that will support workers and the business over the long term. For Eroğlu Garments (EG), a newly established denim garment manufacturing facility backed by Eroğlu Global Holding, those foundations were part of the journey from the beginning.

While the garment operation is a recent investment, Eroğlu Global Holding has operated in Egypt for around 15 years, producing denim fabric for international markets. Its expansion into garment manufacturing reflects the Group's confidence in Egypt's workforce, geographical position and potential as a production base. “We are very happy to be here because we believe in the country,” says Hülya Eroğlu, Chief Executive Officer, Eroğlu Garment. “We believe Egypt will continue to grow.”

“We saw the potential here, including the advantages of duty-free access to the US market and Egypt’s proximity to Europe,” explains Mehmet Bora, General Manager, Eroğlu Garment. As EG established its operations, Better Work Egypt began working alongside management through advisory services and technical guidance, supporting the development of workplace systems, labour compliance and continuous improvement from the outset.

Starting with strong foundations

After one of the company's existing customers recommended Better Work, EG applied to join Better Work Egypt. Through assessments, advisory services, training and technical guidance, Better Work Egypt has worked with management to review workplace systems and strengthen understanding of national labour legislation, international labour standards, occupational safety and health and workplace cooperation.

“Better Work helps us understand national and international compliance requirements and improve our systems,” says Bircan Yılmaz, Sustainability Manager. “It’s training and guidance helps us sustain good practices in labour standards, health and safety, and communication between workers and management.” Rather than approaching compliance as a one-time requirement, the factory has sought to embed continuous improvement into its workplace systems from an early stage.

© Better Work Egypt

© Better Work Egypt

From systems to workplace practice

As the factory developed, the partnership moved beyond establishing systems to examining how they work in practice.

Working alongside management, Better Work Egypt reviewed workplace policies and procedures, identified areas that could be strengthened and followed up on changes introduced by the factory. To strengthen communication with workers, the factory introduced additional feedback channels alongside its existing suggestion boxes, including a QR-code system that allows workers to raise concerns anonymously.

For Marwa Ramadan, HR Manager at Eroğlu Garment, strengthening communication between workers and management is also closely linked to retaining workers. “Human resources is not only about recruitment. It is the channel connecting the employer and workers, conveying their ideas, problems, concerns and suggestions,” says Ramadan. “Better Work helped us ensure that this channel functions properly- how to listen to workers, understand their ideas and concerns, and provide an appropriate response that also helps us retain them.”

© Better Work Egypt

© Better Work Egypt

Investing in people

As production expanded, EG recruited around 2,500 workers within a relatively short period. For Ramadan, who joined during the factory's establishment and helped develop its administrative and recruitment processes, the greater challenge was not reaching that number but creating the conditions for workers to stay.

“It is not easy to recruit this number of workers in such a short time, but the harder task is retaining them,” she says. “For Eroğlu Garment, that has been the priority. Workers are the first and most important investment in the operation.” That focus on people is also shaping the next stage of the partnership.

This year, EG nominated Yılmaz and George Albier, Social Compliance and Responsibility Specialist, to participate in Better Work Egypt's Factory Ambassador programme. The programme equips selected factory representatives with practical knowledge and tools they can apply in their workplaces, helping strengthen factory ownership of continuous improvement.

“Once we joined, we learned a great deal, and I was able to apply what I learned directly in the workplace,” says Albier. By developing Factory Ambassadors within its workforce, EG is investing in the knowledge and capacity needed to carry learning forward as the factory grows.

© Better Work Egypt

© Better Work Egypt

Looking ahead

According to management, at the time of filming, EG was operating at approximately half of its planned production capacity and expects its workforce to grow to around 3,700 employees by early 2027. As operations expand, the partnership with Better Work Egypt provides a framework for building on the systems already established and strengthening the factory's capacity to sustain workplace improvements over time.

For EG, the journey remains a work in progress. “We have already made progress on our journey, but we still have much to do together,” says Mehmet Bora, General Manager of Eroğlu Garment. “We would like to build a factory where customers, investors and employees are all satisfied. We believe this cooperation will help take us into the future.”