Ergonweb

"Over 100,000 girls and women in South Asia are set to benefit from a new initiative by the International Labour Organization and the UK Department for International Development, which aims to prevent trafficking within the region and to the Middle East. "

Latest projects and thinking from Ergon

What are the financial implications for brands in signing up to the new Bangladesh factory Accord?

Draft new Equator Principles for 60 day public consultation, including changes following new IFC Performance Standards and incorporation of UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

Annual ITUC global survey, with country by country analysis

"Wage levels in China have increased continually over the last two decades as the economy has developed and the private sector has created new employment opportunities. However, disparities among geographic regions, industrial sectors and between top executives and ordinary workers have also increased significantly, widening the rich-poor gap. Moreover, wage increases for China's lowest paid workers have often been eroded by higher costs of living, and the issue of wage arrears remains a serious and unresolved problem throughout the country."

Text of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh

"This report digs underneath the façade of social auditing and certification schemes to reveal a deeply disturbing abdication of responsibilities on the part of both governments to protect human rights at the workplace and of companies to respect these rights by exercising due diligence regarding the impact of their business activities and their business relationships."

To eradicate poverty, the international community should pursue a wider and more far-reaching approach to development than was captured in the MDGs, European thinktanks say in the 2013 ERD. Although poverty should remain a core focus of the new agenda, the objective should be to tackle its causes by adopting a more inclusive and sustainable development model that emphasises jobs and addresses inequality, according to ODI, the European Council for Development Policy Management and the German Development Institute.

Piece by Roger Plant

Stuart Bell blogs on the need for smarter ways to assess risk

"A global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2.0 could be used as a headline indicator for the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals, providing an intuitive overview of multidimensional poverty to complement a $1.25/day measure.

The study focuses on practical lessons, and seeks to find out what types of activities are most likely to have the greatest impact on job creation, and how these activities affect different societal groups. It complements the World Bank's recent World Development Report on Jobs by offering practical lessons and recommendations to help the private sector create more high-quality jobs.

"The verification of supermarket policies with the case study in Morocco shows that there is a clear disconnect between labour standards that supermarkets uphold and the harsh reality for green beans workers. It is recommended that supermarkets exercise proper due diligence by investigating and addressing workplace related problems in FFV supply chains independently and more rigorously. "