Auditing and Certification Programmes: A Research Project
In 2005 ILO, in cooperation with the EU, will conduct a research project on auditing and certification. The project will be implemented by ILO Ankara Office and Multinational Enterprises Department in Geneva. The project will survey the extent, costs and benefits of auditing and certification programmes in Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
In recent years, the increase in deregulation and shortcomings in the normative and administrative functions of states have given rise to numerous auditing and certification efforts in the area of labour standards. Companies, industry associations, NGOs and multi-stakeholder initiatives have developed a wide range of auditing and certification systems, often accompanied by codes of conduct, to complement the work of governments.
The precise coverage and extent of social auditing and certification is still unknown though there are many signals that it is becoming an important area of activity. This project seeks to find out the extent of auditing and certification programmes in terms of number of companies and workers affected in Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Hungary.
The project will survey a number of companies in the period of six months through a questionnaire, which will be followed up by a brief telephone interview to companies which did not respond to the initial survey. In addition, at least five in-depth case studies examining the costs and benefits of auditing and certification systems will be written.
The project will survey a number of companies in the textile, garment, footwear, wood products and other prominent manufacturing sectors. At the end of six months, a snapshot of the prevalence auditing and certification in the four countries will be presented in the form of a detailed report to the EU and the ILO. Different interest groups will also be interviewed with regards to their position vis-à-vis their opinions on auditing and certification initiatives.
At least five detailed case studies of company experiences’ with auditing and certification initiatives.
The precise coverage and extent of social auditing and certification is still unknown though there are many signals that it is becoming an important area of activity. This project seeks to find out the extent of auditing and certification programmes in terms of number of companies and workers affected in Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Hungary.
The project will survey a number of companies in the period of six months through a questionnaire, which will be followed up by a brief telephone interview to companies which did not respond to the initial survey. In addition, at least five in-depth case studies examining the costs and benefits of auditing and certification systems will be written.
The project will survey a number of companies in the textile, garment, footwear, wood products and other prominent manufacturing sectors. At the end of six months, a snapshot of the prevalence auditing and certification in the four countries will be presented in the form of a detailed report to the EU and the ILO. Different interest groups will also be interviewed with regards to their position vis-à-vis their opinions on auditing and certification initiatives.
Objectives:
- To produce a body of high quality research and analysis on auditing and certification initiatives across different industries in four different EU Accession/Candidate Countries.
- To identify possible areas of involvement for the ILO/EU in the field of auditing and certification.
Outputs:
One Survey Report on the context and extent of auditing and certification covering four countries (Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey) based on information collected by surveys, interviews and case studies.At least five detailed case studies of company experiences’ with auditing and certification initiatives.
- Mention of survey and case studies in forthcoming reports about social auditing and certification and;
- Forced Labour
- Health and Safety
- Wages, Benefits, Working Hours and Overtime
- Introduction and context;
- Methodology and results of factory survey (around 900 companies);
- Results of in-depth questionnaires on social auditing to companies, auditors and worker and employer organizations;
- Report on technical meeting of social auditors in Turkey;
- Eight case studies;
- Conclusions and recommendations.