It does this by monitoring and reporting on working conditions in Cambodian garment factories according to national and international standards, by helping factories to improve working conditions and productivity, and by working with the Government and international buyers to ensure a rigorous and transparent cycle of improvement.

The project grew out of a trade agreement between the United States and Cambodia. Under the agreement the US promised Cambodia better access to US markets in exchange for improved working conditions in the garment sector. The ILO project was established in 2001 to help the sector make and maintain these improvements.

Better Factories Cambodia is managed by the International Labour Organization and supported by the Royal Government of Cambodia, the Garment Manufacturers' Association in Cambodia (GMAC) and unions. Better Factories Cambodia works closely with other stakeholders including international buyers. It is funded by the US Department of Labor, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Agence Francaise de Developpement, the Garment Manufacturers’ Association in Cambodia, the Royal Government of Cambodia and international buyers.

Better Factories Cambodia was formerly known as the ILO Garment Sector Project. The new name better reflects the present aims of the ILO project.

• How it works
• Continuous improvement
• Better access to information
• Why it works
• Funding
• Making it last

How it works

Better Factories Cambodia runs a programme of unannounced factory visits to check on working conditions. The monitors’ checklist, based on Cambodian labour law and the standards of the ILO, and endorsed by the government as well as by employers and unions involved in the garment industry, runs to near 500 items. To ensure accuracy, workers and management are interviewed separately and confidentially. Interviews with workers usually take place away from the factory. Monitors also talk with factory shop stewards and union leaders.

Factory managers get reports of the findings that include suggestions for improvement. Suggestions are specific, touching on issues as diverse as child labour, freedom of association, employee contracts, wages, working hours, workplace facilities, noise control and machine safety.After time for discussion and follow-up action, the monitors again visit the factory to check and report on progress.

Top

Continuous improvement

Better Factories Cambodia is creating services to help the industry improve working conditions, whilst at the same time improving quality and productivity. A range of training opportunities and resources are being progressively offered to the industry. Options range from simple good practice sheets to an intensive 12-month modular training program. Starting in 2005, with funding from the Agence Francaise de Developpment, Better Factories Cambodia implemented a new website, developed new resource materials and began offering a diverse range of training opportunities.

Workplace co-operation between management and unions is at the heart of the Better Factories Cambodia training programs. The training focus is on both boosting productivity and improving working conditions through worker involvement. The ILO draws on its international expertise to design and deliver these improvement programs. The topics cover such things as workplace co-operation and dispute resolution, occupational health and safety, working conditions, globalisation and change processes. Training is conducted in Khmer, Chinese and English.

Better Factories Cambodia training is designed so that everyone can share their views and ideas and can build on their own experiences. The emphasis is on practical and measurable improvements at the factory level.

Better Factories Cambodia also works with government staff to build their own capacity, and with local organizations to deliver training to the industry in the longer term.

Top

Better access to information

Better Factories Cambodia has now developed a world-first information management system (IMS) for monitoring and reporting on working conditions. The IMS is a totally computerized system for collecting, storing and analyzing data. It enables the generation of reports tailored to user needs, and provides enhanced security, easy access to information, and greater transparency.

The IMS streamlines and integrates the data collected during factory monitoring visits on working conditions. By compiling this information electronically, Better Factories Cambodia now automatically generates reports for individual factories that show their current compliance, progress over time as well as suggestions for improvement. Because of its electronic database, the IMS also provides reports on groups of factories or on the entire industry. It can compare performance across different types of factories, rank major issues, and detail different combinations of information that may be required for analysis.

The IMS also stores data on Better Factories Cambodia training programs, and can track the participation of factories as well as the outcomes of these programs.

The IMS makes it possible for Better Factories Cambodia to produce reports in Khmer, English and Chinese. Reports are more user-friendly. Because the system is web-based, accessing information is quick and easy.

See our brochure on the IMS, and answers to Frequently Asked Questions for additional information on the IMS.

Top

Why it works

The project works for several reasons. It is includes all exporting garment factories and represents common interests of all those involved in the industry. It is transparent, credible to international buyers making sourcing decisions, and meets the needs and interests of workers and the industry.

All export factories in the country are monitored by the project due to the co-operation of the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce. Participation is a condition of export licensing in Cambodia.

The Better Factories Cambodia programme is not intended to guarantee complete compliance with labour standards. It focuses on continuous improvement. While problems still remain, over the last four years of the programme genuine progress has been made. Better Factories does what it says. It brings about improvement over time.

Better Factories Cambodia represents a convergence of common interests of the industry, international buyers, of the desires of western consumers for sweat-shop free products, and for more and better jobs in one of the poorest countries of this world. As with all ILO projects, national trade unions, employers’ organizations as well as the national government are partners in this work.

Top

Funding

The cost of the monitoring is modest – less than US$3 a year for each worker, or US$2800 for each factory. Factories taking part in training programs contribute further to the cost.

At present Better Factories Cambodia is funded by the US Department of Labor (USDOL), USAID, the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), the Cambodian Government (RGC), the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) and international buyers.

Better Factories Cambodia is guided by a tripartite committee from Cambodian ministries, GMAC and the Cambodian union federations. International buyers are important to Better Factories Cambodia’s work and there is a strong commitment to consulting and building relationships with interested buyers.

Top

Making it last

Better Factories Cambodia aims to be sustainable over the longer term. Already most of its staff are Cambodian nationals. A significant part of its work involves capacity building. Current funding plans aim for the project to be self-supporting by 1st January 2009. This requires the commitment of the social partners (Government, employers and unions), as well as of buyers and consumers to ensure that Cambodia can build on its successes.

Read a stakeholders’ statement about Better Factories Cambodia in the future.