IMPROVING WORKING CONDITIONS AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE …

IMPROVING WORKING CONDITIONS AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE GARMENT INDUSTRY

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IMPROVING WORKING CONDITIONS AND PRODUCTIVITY IN

THE GARMENT INDUSTRY

An action manual

edited by Juan Carlos Hiba

International Labour Office Geneva

Copyright ? International Labour Organization 1998 First published 1998

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Hiba, Juan Carlos Improving working conditions and productivity in the garment industry: Practical ideasfor owners and managers of small and medium-sized enterprises Geneva, International Labour Office, 1998

/Management development guide!, /Working conditions!, /Labour productivity!, !Management', !SmaIl-scale industry!, !Clothing industry!. 13.03.1

ISBN 92-2-110849-X

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Printed in Italy

ILOITUR

Preface

Improvements in working conditions and work organization can result in increased productivity and competitiveness. This has been clearly demonstrated in Asia, Latin America and Africa by entrepreneurs of small and medium-sized enterprises who have taken voluntary action to improve working conditions and productivity.

In 1988, the ILO published two manuals on Higher productivity and a better place to work: an Action manual, addressed to owner-managers of small and medium-sized enterprises, and a Trainers' manual. These manuals have been used in numerous awareness-raising and training workshops, as part of the Office's technical advisory services and for technical cooperation projects. They have encouraged improvements in different types of individual enterprises making products such as iron castings, furniture, footwear, small household appliances, food and beverages, paper, tiles and cement pipes, and glass.

In 1994, it was decided to develop training materials targeted at a particular industry or sector. The garment industry was selected because of its significant contribution to economic growth in many countries and because it is a major source of foreign-exchange earnings. It is also a major employer of women. Improving working conditions and productivity in this industry could thus result in making these small and medium-sized enterprises more competitive, efficient and safer, and also extend better protection to women workers.

This publication follows a similar approach to the manuals on Higher productivity and a better place to work, written by J.E. Thurman, A.E. Louzine and K. Kogi. It shows how to take simple, effective, low-cost action to raise productivity while improving conditions at the workplace. Some of the technical topics covered include handling and storage of materials, lighting, workstation and product design, safe and efficient machine operation, workplace layout, welfare facilities and work organization. The examples given are drawn from actual situations and experiences of owners and managers of small enterprises producing garments. All of them have voluntarily participated in training programmes organized by the ILO. The emphasis is on the implementation of practical, low-cost and locally appropriate measures directly related to productivity. Practical tools for

assessing conditions of work, planning the process of change, involving workers and assessing productivity are also given.

We are indebted to many individuals and institutions for the ideas and examples used in this book. We benefited from their contributions to technical cooperation projects and national programmes such as the project financed by the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) on Improving Working Conditions and Productivity in Smalland Medium-sized Enterprises in the Philippines, the FINNIDA (Finnish International Development Agency) financed project on Training and Information Project for African Countries on Occupational Safety and Health in the United Republic of Tanzania, and the national programme entitled Melhor Ambiente de Trabalho, Major Produtividade (Better working environment, higher productivity) carried out and funded by the Servico Brasileiro de Apoio as Micros e Pequerias Empresas (SEBRAE). In particular, we are grateful to the following for their substantial contributions: the Bureau of Working Conditions and the Regional Offices of the Department of Labor and Employment, the Agro-Industrial Management and Consultancy, Inc., and Mr. William Salter, Senior Specialist, ILO Multidisciplinary Team for South-East Asia and the Pacific, in the Philippines; the Factories Inspectorate (Ministry of Labour), the National Institute of Productivity, the Moshi-Arusha Occupational Health Service (MAOHS), and Mr. Vesa Tornberg, Associate Expert of the FINNIDA project, in the United Republic of Tanzania; and Ms. Regina Heloisa Maciel, Departamento de Psicologia Experimental, Universidade de S?o Paulo,

Brazil.

We also express our appreciation to the hundreds of owners and managers of small and medium-sized enterprises who opened their doors and made it possible to organize the training courses. Their experience and enthusiastic support provided the substance of this publication. Special thanks to employers' organizations, productivity centres, training institutions and ministries of labour that participated in organizing the training courses.

Colleagues in the Conditions of Work Branch provided considerable technical, adminisfrative and secretarial backup to complete this publication. Acknowledgements are

due to Mr. Juan Carlos Hiba, for coordinating the contributions of various individuals and for the technical editing, and to Ms. Simone Didero, Ms. Joan Robb and Ms. Helen Wielander for typing the many revisions to the final text. Prof. Nigel Corlett of the University of Nottingham, Mr. Peter Hasle from the Centre for Alternative Social Analysis in Copenhagen, Mr. Malcolm Pugh, Pugh Management Consultants, United Kingdom, and Mr. Michael Henriques, Entrepreneurship and Management Development Branch of the ILO, all

provided valuable technical comments and useful suggestions to improve the draft. Last but not least, our thanks to the Publications Bureau for their assistance in processing this publication, and to the International Training Centre of the ILO in Turin for the illustrations.

We hope that this publication will lead to improvements in the conditions of work in small and medium-sized garmentproducing enterprises, and thus to a better working life for thousands of workers, especially women workers.

F.J. Dy-Hammar Chief

Conditions of Work Branch Working Conditions and Environment Department

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