The International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched the “Promoting Decent Work through Productivity and Workplace Cooperation Interventions in South Africa’s Clothing Manufacturing Sector” project with the support of the Government of Flanders.
- The project kicked off with a mapping study of business support organisations (BSOs) in the clothing manufacturing industry. The study examines key challenges and opportunities in the sector, given that clothing manufacturing has faced various challenges in the last decade and has lost market share to other clothing producing countries where labour costs are lower.
- The Government of Flanders is the executive branch of the Flemish community and the Flemish region of Belgium.
THE MAPPING: The service portfolio of 56 institutions and BSOs in the clothing manufacturing sector was analysed, including both public and private sector, to identify entry points for technical interventions to strengthen productivity and competitiveness as well as promote decent work in the sector.
- Building on the mapping study, the project held a planning workshop with SCORE Trainers in December 2023 to prepare for SCORE roll-out with the key implementation partner, National Bargaining Council for the Clothing Manufacturing Industry (NBCCMI).
- This was followed by a two-day online refresher Training of Trainers (ToT) for certified SCORE Trainers who will deliver SCORE Training to at least 45 textile and clothing manufacturing SMEs over the course of the year.
- The ILO’s Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) Programme works on improving productivity and working conditions in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The key intervention of the programme is SCORE Training, which combines practical classroom training with in-factory consulting. The Training demonstrates best international practice in the manufacturing and service sectors and helps SMEs to participate in global supply chains.
PROJECT CONTEXT: In order to address the challenges facing the clothing manufacturing industry in South Africa, the project seeks to improve the support ecosystem to help SMEs and their workers improve productivity and working conditions through two complementary components.
- First, the project will seek to improve the capacities of government and national institutions and sector organisations that are already providing support to the clothing manufacturing sector to deliver high quality and accessible services to SMEs in the sector. This is to ensure that they have improved technical capacities to continue to support the sector beyond the lifetime of the project.
- Specifically, the project will strengthen the capacity of relevant government departments that oversee the sector including the National Bargaining Council for the Clothing Manufacturing Industry (NBCCMI) and Productivity SA, as well as improve the performance of BSOs.
- Second, the project will focus on improving enterprise competitiveness in the sector through the implementation of productivity focused interventions in at least 45 textile and clothing manufacturing firms.
- Special emphasis will be given to social and environmental sustainability in order to also address the critical challenges of climate change and the need for greener and more resource efficient and cleaner production. This will be done in close collaboration with the selected BSOs.
