WWW Past Projects
Please click on the links below to read more about our past projects
- Promoting Women Workers' Rights in African Horticulture (2005-2007)
- Core Labour Standards and the Rights of Women Workers in International Supply Chains (2003-2005)
- The Rights of Women Workers in Garmant Industry Sub-Contracting Chains (2002-2004)
- Women Workers and Codes of Conduct
Promoting Women Workers' Rights in African Horticulture
January 2005 - December 2007
Background
Flower and vegetable production is a significant foreign exchange earner in East Africa and the expansion of this sector has produced important employment opportunities: however, the question is has it helped reduce poverty?
In 2003 women from trade unions and NGOs came together to voice their concern about appalling working conditions on flower and vegetable farms exporting goods to the European market. The project developed from this meeting.
Aim
The aim of the project is to enable women working on flower and vegetable farms to claim their full rights as workers. Partner organisations worked together to:
- Research supply chains and working conditions
- Educate workers about their rights
- Involve workers in advocacy work with key stakeholders
- Share knowledge and experience across the region and with partners in Europe
The project was collaborative in design and aimed to bring partners together from north and south to support each other in terms of experience, information and advice. Whilst our African colleagues undertook advocacy at a national level, WWW undertook advocacy at an international level with stakeholders at the consumer end of the supply chain
Partners
- Kenya Women Workers' Organisation
- Tanzania Plantation and Agricultural Workers' Union
- Uganda Workers' Education Association
- Worker Education Association Zambia
Achievements
'For me the training has been most useful, to understand what our rights are, to realise we are not alone and to know that we should be demanding better workig conditions', Mary, Tanzanian flower worker involved in the project.
- Approximately 1000 workers interviewed
- Produced research on working conditions
- Facilitated more than 6,000 workers to join trade unions
- Increased women's participation in union structures and committees
- Organised 24 multi-stakeholder meetings which have brought women workers together with management, export associations and government officials to address vital issues
On a farm level our project has meant that workers are provided with:
- Protective clothing to stop the harmful effect of pesticides
- Safe drinking water
- Toilet facilities and sanitary bins
- Maternity leave benefits
- Childcare facilities
- Medical check ups
- Transport to and from work
For information regarding country-by-country impact click here for the January 08 end of project bulletin
Research
Click here for the research summary
Click here for the research report
Core Labour Standards and the Rights of Women Workers in International Supply Chains
January 2003 - December 2005
Background
This project was concerned with the rights of women workers in international supply chains and the implementation of universal labour standards through company codes of conduct, social clauses in trade agreements and the implementation of ILO "core labour standards". For Women Working Worldwide there were two important issues which were not being adequately addressed:
- The complexity of international supply chains which operate against the implementation of any forms of regulation
- The relationship between core labour standards and the demands of women workers
Project Focus
The focus of the project was on garment supply chains from Asia and fresh produce from Africa. It built on previous project work carried out with partners in Asia and Africa.
Project Aims
- To increase understanding of the operation of international sourcing in specific sectors and of the challenges involved in implementing labour standards along subcontracting chains.
- To promote the importance of gender awareness in debates on universal labour standards
- To create more support for women workers in international supply chains through worker solidarity, consumer awareness and institutional policy making.
Participants and Partners
The project attempted to bridge the gaps between different constituencies (workers, consumers, trade union activists, academics and policy makers) by facilitating the flow of information and providing forums for debate between different players. This debate was informed by trade unions and women workers' organisations in the relevant sectors in Asia and Africa.
Education material was developed in partnership with IFWEA and EuroWEA.
The Rights of Women Workers in Garmant Industry Sub-Contracting Chains
January 2002 - January 2004
Background
The aim of the project was to help workers and activists to increase their understanding of the processes of subcontracting in the garment industry and to use this understanding to develop appropriate strategies for promoting the rights of workers outside main units of production.
Project Focus
The first year of the project focused on research and the second one education and dissemination.
Why subcontracting chains?
A relatively recent trend in the garment industry is the development of long and complicated subcontracting chains. The further down the chain the workers are the less they are paid and the more flexible they are. Manufacturers are able to pick up or drop workers according to contracts that are coming into the factories.
This development to outsource work has a great impact on working conditions, which tend to be worse with sweatshops and homeworkers. Work is even more insecure, low paid and isolating. Most homeworkers are not covered by labour legislation and the isolation factor means it's harder for workers to organise.
Why did we do this project
- To increase understanding among workers and activists of subcontracting chains in the garment industry
- To understand power within different levels within a subcontracting chain and the direct relationship to working conditions and labour rights
- To increase understanding of subcontracting to help us develop better strategies to promote worker rights along the chain
- To create and strengthen links between workers outside the factories and worker organisations
A Collaborative Project
The project was collaborative in nature including organisations from Bangladesh, Bulgaria, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Thailand and Hong Kong/China. It was set up to enable each organisation to understand more fully how the garment industry operates in their locality and what the implications are for workers.
Project Partners
- Bangladesh: Karmojibi Nari,(Working Women) Dhaka
- Bulgaria: Bulgaria Gender Research Foundation
- Hong Kong/ China: Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee
- India: Union Research Group, Bombay
- Pakistan: Working Womens Organisation, Lahore
- Philippines: Philippine Resource Centre, Manila and Innabuyog Women Workers Programme, Baguio
- Sri Lanka: TIE Asia, Colombo
- Thailand: Friends of Women, Bangkok
Research Summary
Click here for a research summary
Women Workers and Codes of Conduct
A Consultation and Education Project
January 1998 - November 2001
Background
Company codes of conduct for the protection of labour rights have been a topic for debate for some time. Most UK high street clothing retailers have adopted such codes. For WWW one of the key concerns about codes is that workers themselves have not been involved in their development and most are not aware of their existence.
Therefore in 1997 Women Working Worldwide did a preliminary research consultation in Asia. The results confirmed that there was a lack of awareness about codes among workers and education was necessary.
Project Focus
During the initial consultation in 1998 it became clear that workers were keen to learn more about codes. It was decided that the project should focus on education of women workers in the garment industry in Asia. The main activities were collaborative workshops, development of educational material and education programmes.
Outcomes
The organisations involved in the project not only educated workers about codes but also encouraged them to assess their value and documented their responses. Overall it became clear that few workers saw codes as the key strategy for achieving their rights but nonetheless they felt they could be useful tools, particularly if there were links with consumer organisation where the parent company were based. However, in reality workers realised that little would be gained unless they were able to act collectively, so any code without the right to organise was regarded as worthless.
Therefore as long as codes include the right to organise the were seen as a potential encouragement to workers to form trade unions where the circumstances were appropriate and there were a number of factories were this actually happened during the course of the project.
Conclusion
One clear conclusion of the project was a demonstration that workers everywhere are capable of thoughtful and sophisticated response, once they are given the opportunity to learn about codes of conduct and to assess their relevance to their own working lives. More programmes of education and consultation are therefore needed if the movement for ethical trade is to bring any real changes in the lives of workers in the industry.
Project Partners
- Karmojibi Nari (Working Women), Bangladesh
- Union Research Group, India
- Bandung Labour Rights Centre, Indonesia
- Working Women's Organisation, Pakistan
- Innabuyog Women Workers Programme, Philippines
- National Federation of Labour, Philippines
- Women's Centre, Sri Lanka
- Da Bindu Collective, Sri Lanka
- Friends of Women, Thailand