ILO and EFC successfully complete pilot project on SCORE

Friday, 25 October 2013 03:35 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam A pilot project on ‘Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises’ (SCORE), facilitated by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in collaboration with the Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC), came to an end earlier this month resulting in substantial workplace cooperation improvements in selected local entities.

Whilst the SCORE project currently operates in eight other countries such as China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, South Africa, Ghana, and Colombia; in Sri Lanka the project started off by providing training for six selected enterprises. The selected enterprises for the program were, Interplast Asia, Ceymac Rubber Co., Trelleborg Lanka, Metric Products, International Trimmings, and Associated Battery Manufacturers. Strengthening collaboration and communication Aiming at strengthening collaboration and communication between

managers and workers, the objective of the training was to boost quality and productivity, improve working conditions, reduce environmental footprint, and make enterprises more competitive in national and global markets. During a conference hosted by the ILO together with EFC to mark the successful end of the pilot project, it was observed that by following the SCORE program the selected organisations not only saw an improvement in communication between employees and their superiors, but also saw a reduction in wastage during production, fewer workplace accidents, reduced absenteeism, and maximum utilisation of available resources. ILO Country Director for Sri Lanka and Maldives Donglin Li said at the event which was also attended by Ministry of Labour and Labour Relations Secretary W.J.L.U. Wijayaweera and EFC Director General Ravi Peiris, that the program demonstrates best international practices in the manufacturing and service sectors. “Decent work” While one of the cornerstones of the ILO’s convictions is that economic and social needs must be balanced, Li stated that the institution believes this can be achieved through “decent work”.

“Labour markets do not function in the same way as markets for services and goods do. Labour markets are about people and profits can only be sustained if the human component is also addressed. This echoes the ILO’s decent work agenda where we highlight the importance of human and social capital in order to improve and sustain growth in productivity,” he added. Stating that the SCORE program is important for the ILO as it is based on the premise that a good working environment does not only benefit the worker, but also the employer, Li said: “According to feedback that we have seen and received from the participating enterprises, this one single program has demonstrated that the phrase a ‘win-win’ situation is not only rhetoric but is also a very viable tool for improving productivity and quality of products in enterprises through better workplace practices and working conditions, which in turn brings about decent work to men and women in Sri Lanka.” The training program Presenting to the audience details on the training program, ILO-SCORE Global Expert Trainer Jayantha R. De Silva explained that SCORE includes three-day classroom sessions, mixed with in-factory, and on-site learning, leading to tangible improvements in SMEs. According to De Silva, hands-on training leads to actions and enterprise improvement teams, which are cross functional, cross hierarchical and gender balanced, lead towards continuous improvement in efforts and the implementation of action plans. He noted that topic covered at the training were, ‘Driving change in the enterprise’, ‘Involvement in 5S’, ‘Communication within the enterprise’, ‘Fair HR policies for better workforce management’, ‘Enhancing productivity’, ‘Quality first’, ‘Safety and health at work; a platform for productivity’, ‘Productivity through cleaner production’, and ‘Measuring workplace improvement’. Sharing his thoughts on how enterprises can maximise the return from the SCORE Program, De Silva stressed that organisations must be committed and should embrace change. “CEOs and senior management should be committed to making sustainable improvements. While it is imperative to value every employee’s ideas and respect them as an individual, it is also important to recognise and reward achievements and encourage efforts to bring out the best in a workforce,” he said.