ILO's India proj for safer, productive factories

New Delhi, Nov 8: International Labour Organisation (ILO) today launched its factory improvement programme in India aimed at creating safer, cleaner workplaces and increasing productivity of factories.

To be implemented over a year in electroplating and light engineering industries, the programme is ILO's collaborative effort with the Faridabad Small Industries Association.

The inauguration of the project, which is meant for small and medium manufacturing industries, took place this morning at the industrial centre of Faridabad near the national capital.

The programme will raise the capacities of factories and increase their productivity, competitiveness and profitability through better involvement of a motivated workforce in decision-making, said Leyla Tegmo-Reddy, ILO's sub-regional office for South Asia head, who inaugurated the factory improvement programme.

On-line training and consultancy support to factory managers is part of the project, which envisages a safer, cleaner and more efficiently designed workplaces.

Faridabad Small Industries Association is the implementing partner of ILO in India.

Two clusters, with 15 industrial units each, will receive the benefits of the ILO project.

Factory improvement programme was initiated worldwide in 2003. It has been implemented so far in the garment sector in Sri Lanka and Vietnam. ILO says rejection of garment export consignments dropped by 46 per cent after the project began in Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

There was also a 34 per cent decline in absenteeism and nearly 50 per cent reduction in overtime, it adds.

UNI