ILO partners with IFC to scale up collaboration on social issues

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Financial Corporation (IFC) seek to improve their partnership to enhance the focus on social issues in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) activities associated with private investments.

The improved relationship between ILO and IFC aims to advance respectable jobs in the private sector and social inclusion in communities that most require it.

This would involve enhancing the IFC/ILO staff’s ability through programs like staff exchanges to spread technical know-how among institutions and through collaborative work on employment impact assessments. Technical ILO-IFC consultations will also be held bi-annually.

The main themes, which are based on social norms, include advancing gender equality in the workplace and combating gender-based workplace violence; assisting in the creation of future high-quality green jobs; and stepping up joint initiatives to enhance working conditions in supply chains.

Makhtar Diop, managing director of IFC, said that in a historic speech to the ILO governing body by utilizing their distinct and complementary assets, he knows they will do more together than they ever could alone.

Gilbert F. Houngbo, ILO director-general, said that he is certain that by working more closely together, ILO and IFC together can enhance working conditions in supply chains and contribute to sustainable development, even in the most difficult settings.

The Better Work Programme, a partnership between international organizations bringing together all levels of the apparel sector, works with the ILO and the IFC already to improve working conditions, uphold labor rights, and increase the competitiveness of the apparel industry.