 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
Code Awareness
FLA Year Two IEM Findings - Code Awareness
* Please note that these findings represent the 1,595 incidences of separate noncompliance issues as found in 105 of the 110 factories subjected to IEMs in Year Two.
Click here for more about the way this data was collected.
Code Awareness was one of the leading issues uncovered by monitors in Year Two, making up 7 percent of all reported noncompliance issues. Code Awareness is unique in that it is not a Code provision itself, but rather is one of the benchmarks that monitors review during the monitoring process. Workers' awareness of Code provisions is essential for their effective implementation on a daily basis, and FLA companies are obligated to ensure workers' awareness of the Code.
Factories' fulfillment of this obligation is measured by three benchmarks: the posting of a Code of Conduct that makes the standards clear; worker and management awareness of the Code; and a mechanism in the factory for reporting noncompliance with the Code. Click here to access a breakdown of Year Two reported noncompliance issues tallied according to Code Awareness.
From a regional perspective, most instances of noncompliance with this Code provision were observed in South Asia, followed by East Asia. Most of the reported Code Awareness noncompliance across all regions, 42 percent of all issues raised, dealt with the lack of a mechanism by which workers can report noncompliance issues. FLA companies are required to provide workers with a channel through which they can communicate grievances to brand representatives.
Although this is still an area for improvement, some companies have worked to meet this obligation in innovative ways. While most have installed suggestion boxes designed for discreet submission of grievances, some have also provided workers with prepaid postcards addressed to company representatives. Others have experimented with free hotline numbers, and many post the cell phone and office numbers of local human rights compliance staff in the factories. Still others have worked with local organizations to collect and address grievances.
It is worth noting here that as companies work to improve local compliance structures, some have worked to train workers and management to install or strengthen factory grievance systems. The hope is that problems can be resolved more quickly and effectively at the factory level, and that contacting brands concerning noncompliance can become a last resort.
Worker and management Code Awareness was also a challenging area, making up 30 percent of all reported noncompliance issues in this section. Despite company Code postings in local languages, and requirements for management to communicate the standards periodically and verbally, Code Awareness levels among workers are low in many factories. Regular training sessions about the Code and local labor laws and the provision of worker handbooks are suggested remediation approaches for these issues. The FLA has observed several instances of such company efforts improving Code awareness. Programs focused on involving local NGOs, unions, or worker representatives in administering worker education have proven to be especially effective.
Please click here to visit the tracking charts to review how various companies have worked to remediate these and other issues.
Link to:
| Code Awareness Benchmarks |
Number of Noncompliance Issues |
Percent of Total |
| Code Posting & Establish Clear Standards |
26 |
22% |
| Worker / Management Code Awareness |
35 |
30% |
| Non-Compliance Reporting Mechanism |
49 |
42% |
| Code Awareness Other |
6 |
54% |
| Total |
116 |
100 % |
|
|
|
|
|
|
