Better Work Bangladesh is running a Levi Strauss Foundation-funded project that provides shoes to barefoot workers in the country’s garment factories.
According to Better Work, many in the Bangladesh ready-made-garment labour force still work barefoot inside factories; a practice that can often lead to fatigue-related injuries. Sometimes workers refuse to wear shoes out of habit, but they can also be prevented from wearing them with the excuse of keeping the factory floors clean.
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In collaboration with the Levi Strauss Foundation, Better Work has distributed 2,200 pairs of shoes since December in two of its affiliated factories to workers on sewing machines, cutting, stitching, finishing, boxing and labelling.
Preliminary results of the project show that when workers are allowed to wear shoes inside the factories premises they feel socially empowered and on the same level of their managers, Better Work says. And initial data, based on feedback from workers and their supervisors, reveals that wearing shoes also boosts the mental well-being of the employees who also feel more motivated than before.
Currently active in 1,450 factories employing more than 1.9m workers in seven countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Haiti, Indonesia, Jordan Nicaragua and Vietnam, with a pilot in Egypt), Better Work brings together all levels of the garment industry to improve working conditions and boost the competitiveness of apparel businesses. It is the flagship programme of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation, a member of the Work Bank Group (WBG).
It works to promote compliance with international labour standards and national law in global supply chains as a basis for building socially responsible export strategies, and enhances enterprise-level economic and social performance.
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By GlobalData
