The Mongolian Employers’ Federation (MONEF) is launching Ready2Export – a tool to help employers export their goods and services abroad by ensuring their business complies with international labour standards. MONEF developed Ready2Export with support from the International Labour Organization (ILO) as part of a project funded by the European Union (EU).

The self-assessment tool allows employers to evaluate how well their own business applies international conventions on labour rights, including freedom of association and collective bargaining, forced labour, child labour and discrimination in employment and occupation. It also provides guidance, allowing them to improve their business practices and level of compliance.

Implementing international labour standards is good for businesses, workers and the national economy. Not only can it lead to better working conditions, more satisfied workers, increased productivity and lower unemployment, but it also often attracts foreign trade and investment. Free trade agreements increasingly include conditions relating to labour rights and human rights. Growing interest in corporate social responsibility and ethical trade in global supply chains has led to the incorporation of labour rights and human rights provisions into many bilateral agreements, particularly those signed by the European Union (EU), the United States and Canada, and companies’ codes of conduct.

Compliance with international labour standards can therefore open channels for businesses to access new international markets and collaborate with new trading partners. By periodically evaluating their business practices, employers can enhance their business reputation and increase their potential to export domestic goods and services on a larger scale.

Ready2Export is not for third parties to inspect or monitor business practices, and employers are not obliged to publish the results of the self-assessment, which can be kept completely private. However, they may wish to make potential business partners aware that they use the tool and are therefore conscious of the importance of respect for labour rights and human rights in their business operations.

MONEF developed Ready2Export with support from the International Labour Organization (ILO) as part of the EU-funded project “Sustaining GSP-Plus Status by strengthened national capacities to improve ILS compliance and reporting – Mongolia.