Promoting Sustainable Compliance in Vietnam 

The Fair Labor Association (FLA) received a grant from the U.S. Department of State to foster sustainable compliance in Vietnam. This grant is being used to conduct a 24-month initiative that will adapt and build on the FLA 3.0 methodology for use in Vietnam. At the heart of this methodology is a consultative, multi-stakeholder process working toward the following objectives:

• Increasing respect for workers’ rights and improving working conditions in Vietnamese factories
• Promoting sustainable compliance at the local factory level, and enabling workers and managers to regulate their own workplaces in a manner consistent with national labor law, international labor standards, and labor best practices
• Cultivating multi-stakeholder engagement in the region

The FLA sustainable compliance initiative held preliminary meetings in July 2009 in Vietnam with two multi-stakeholder forums in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Representatives from industry, civil society, government and other interested parties participated. A preliminary report, "Supporting Sustainable Compliance Roundtable Discussion," was prepared to communicate the outcomes of the meeting. Read the report

The FLA Sustainable Compliance Initiative is enlisting 50 factories supplying FLA-affiliated companies, as well as non-affiliated companies, in the project. The focus will be on factories producing footwear, equipment and apparel (with apparel factories in the north prioritized), as well as factories in a few other select industries to test the applicability of the FLA 3.0 methodology. There are 33 FLA-affiliated companies currently sourcing from approximately 230 factories in Vietnam.

For more information about the Promoting Sustainable Compliance in Vietnam project, please contact Nguyen Ba Lam, Project Manager, at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .