Staying Safe – Supporting the RMG sector through the Covid-19 Crisis

Terms of Reference -VSCF in-country M&E Framework, Baseline, Endline evaluation and technical support on OHS

Summary
The DFID Vulnerable Supply Chains Facility has partnered with expert organizations and leading UK businesses to improve working conditions and access to healthcare and health information for workers in Bangladesh and other key supplier countries. This will help make workplaces safer, meaning employees can return to work and supply chains can keep moving and become more resilient. To this extent, the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) has partnered with 7 corporate members – Primark, New Look, M&S, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Dimensions and Arco – to quickly and effectively address the risks related to a safe return to work following the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. The project will start its activities at the end of August 2020 and run until July 31st, 2021.

ETI is contractually obliged to carry out a baseline and an endline evaluation for the project, which combined will be the primary means of assessing the project’s effectiveness in delivering against its agreed logframe and understanding whether its theory of change (ToC) holds true. The project also has a component to provide technical support to six factories to strengthen their occupational health and safety (OHS) capacity, which will ensure safety and security in the workplace.

In the above context, ETI Bangladesh is searching for a Bangladesh-based consulting firm to carry out the tasks outlined in this ToR with a start date as soon as possible.

About Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI)
ETI is an alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs that promotes respect for workers’ rights around the globe. Our vision is a world where all workers are free from exploitation and discrimination, and enjoy conditions of freedom, security and equity. Our members commit to the promotion of the ETI Base Code in their own operations and their supply chains, which outlines nine standards for workers, based on the ILO conventions. With over 100 companies, our collective influence is growing every year; our member companies' ethical trade activities already cover over 65,000 suppliers, reaching more than 12 million workers.

Programme Overview
ETI Bangladesh Ltd is a fully owned subsidiary of ETI; established with the aim of designing and delivering programmes and activities in Bangladesh to achieve ETI’s global vision and strategy. As part of that vision ETI Bangladesh Ltd is delivering the Joint ETI (JETI) Social Dialogue Programme in Bangladesh. The programme is a collaborative initiative that strives to empower low-income workers working in global supply chains by enabling worker voice. Bringing together global brands, their suppliers, local trade unions and other stakeholders; JETI Social Dialogue Programme drives impact for workers and business via workplace-based interventions with the aim of improving dialogue between workers and management and to build workers’ capacity to represent their needs. 

In order to quickly and effectively address the risks to a safe return to work following the Covid-19 pandemic, ETI is launching a new intervention titled “Supporting women in the garment industry, earn a living, stay safe and be respected in a COVID-19 environment” to build on the possibilities and access provided by its existing Social Dialogue intervention in Bangladesh. The project will add and trial a strong Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) component to a selected number of factories while working with partner brands and other stakeholders through an Expert Support Network to scale and replicate best practices among further suppliers in Bangladesh as well as in similar production markets such as Myanmar.

As a result of the new intervention 25,500 workers in 20 factories will receive digital tab-based OHS awareness raising training; 6 factories will have increased the capacity of their factory facilities to ensure safety and security at workplace while 1,000 factory managers will receive comprehensive OHS training on how to take effective measures preventing the spread of COVID-19.

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