Read in Español, Việt Nam, 中文 COVID-19 continues to be a critical issue throughout the supply chain. Key sourcing countries, like Vietnam, India and Indonesia have recently been devastated by the Delta variant. There has been a tragic number of deaths amongst worker communities, accompanied by a rapid change in workplace regulations, as well a s stressed and confused workers and employers. Several reports, including one by the ILO, have argued for equitable access to vaccines for supply chain workers in order to create a more resilient supply chain, and brands and suppliers alike have actively been lobbying governments for these changes. In Vietnam, workers are not allowed to return to work until they are inoculated, a challenging request for many and one that has led to most factories to operate at limited capacity. As sourcing countries wait for vaccines, brands and factories are looking for ways to better support workers and secure their supply chains. Many are turning to WOVO to instantly connect with workers throughout their supply chain or in a specific location to better understand worker needs. Here are some examples of how clients are using WOVO + worker surveys to support workers during COVID: A brand sent a worker survey to over 150,000 workers in Vietnam to count both the number of vaccinated workers, and the number of workers who need support to get vaccinated. The brand collected over 10,000 responses in less than 24 hours and 30,000 in 48 hours. The brand has used this data to purchase vaccines for workers in the hope of reopening facilities faster. Several factories in Vietnam have used WOVO and worker surveys to prepare for their re-opening by promoting vaccines, listing vaccine locations, and gathering documentation about workers’ vaccination status, so they can open faster. Suppliers are also better able to predict how many workers will be allowed to return each day, as they are certified as being fully vaccinated. Several factories have used WOVO to communicate with workers while they are offsite or when government regulations change. Many clients have implemented eLearning on WOVO to provide workers with access to safety and wellbeing courses on topics like reliance, grief, and parenting during the crisis. Several factories in have used WOVO to manage testing roll-out, with workers signing up for certain time slots using the app in order to avoid overcrowding. During COVID, worker voice tools have been key to worker recovery and safety, allowing factories to “assess worker sentiment so that we can timely respond to their needs. It also allowed us to quickly reach out and support workers during this fluid and challenging time,” said a human resource director at a footwear factory in Vietnam, who has been working to get workers vaccinated so they can return to work. With the data they’ve collected from WOVO and surveys, that factory can now accurately predict when workers will be back at work (based on when workers receive their second dose) and better understand which workers need more support. Facing a very fluid situation with little to no predictability having a reliable and digital system to stay in contact with workers has been key to recovery and ensuring worker safety. Looking to better support workers and suppliers struggling to combat COVID. Reach out to your client advisor for support.

Read in Español, Việt Nam, 中文 Read how one factory conducted a worker survey, discovered female workers were concerned about their safety and then worked with Labor Solutions to improve the protection of workers and reduce sexual harassment on their site. When the factory conducted the same survey again 6 months later, they found workers reported feeling safer and safety concerns had decreased by 45%. Background: The Nike Engagement and Wellbeing (EWB) worker survey is increasingly used by brands and suppliers to better understand workers’ experience and identify issues to focus attention and resources. The survey allows brands and factories to easily identify strengths and improvement opportunities, by providing scores for each question and indicator. Indicators include topics such as Skill Building, Recruitment, Harassment, Social Connection, Communication, Stress and more. Worker surveys have proven to be successful tools to better understand worker needs, but often Labor Solutions finds interpreting data and following up to be more challenging for management teams. Understanding worker needs is important but acting on feedback and making improvements is key to increased engagement and safety. To support management teams to using surveys to drive change, in addition to preparing and deploying the survey, Labor Solutions now provides advisory services to help factories understand the results, identify next steps and create and implement Corrective Action Plans (CAP). This case study examines how a factory from China, with support from a Labor Solutions Client Advisor, acted on survey results and responded to workers’ feedback regarding sexual harassment. The factory conducted the EWB worker survey and found 60% of survey participants were concerned about Sexual Harassment at workplace, and among them 80% had not spoken about their concerns with anyone. Management, having never heard these types of complaints before, was shocked by the results and eager to find out more. But they struggled to figure out how to get started, so they decided to engage the client advisory team at Labor Solutions. Solution: The training also provides a structure for management teams to better understand root causes of results. It requires management to consider multiple aspects of the issue, such as existing (or non-existing) policies and procedures, ability to action policies and procedures (was someone assigned to manage the process) and the existence and availability of trainings for management and worker on the target issue. This leads to an internal review process. Labor Solutions Client Advisors helped management quickly distill key information from a number of data points and identify areas that required a deeper dive. Sexual Harassment was identified as an improvement area. The training also provides a structure for management teams to better understand root causes of results. It requires management to consider multiple aspects of the issue, such as existing (or non-existing) policies and procedures, ability to action policies and procedures (was someone assigned to manage the process) and the existence and availability of trainings for management and worker on the target issue. This leads to an internal review process. Sometimes, when the root causes are unclear, Labor Solutions advisors, encourage factories to also conduct Focus Group Discussions (FGD) to get more detailed information from workers. Based on Labor Solutions’ guidance, this factory conducted an internal review process and invited Labor Solutions to organize FGDs to gather more workers’ feedback. The factory was not lacking comprehensive sexual harassment policies or a person in charge. Still, the process was not working, workers felt unsafe but choose not to report it through the normal processes. The FGD uncovered that female workers were being verbally harassed by a group outside the factory on their way back to the dormitory next to the factory compound. Despite feeling unsafe, workers were hesitant to speak up to management because they lacked an anonymous feedback tool (until the survey) and they felt the topic was embarrassing and sensitivity of the topic. It was clear that the factory needed to help protect the women by addressing their safety during their commute and provide tools for workers to report issues anonymously and immediately, rather than waiting for an annual survey. Using the action plan template provided by Labor Solutions, the factory set up a short-term and a long-term plan to tackle the issue, which included action items, responsible personnel and how they plan to monitor the progress. Short-term plan includes providing transport for workers back to the dorm, avoiding arranging night shifts for female workers and working with local authority to provide additional surveillance around the area. The long-term plan is to provide training on sexual harassment awareness to workers and set up an anonymous grievance channel. The factory quickly put the plan into implementation and used the template to track monitoring results to hold the personnel accountable. Results: When the factory conducted the same survey again 6 months later, they found workers reported feeling safer and safety concerns had decreased by 45%. The percentage of workers reporting sexual harassment and safety concerns had reduced by 45% to 15%. A majority of workers now stated that they directly report any issues immediately though the anonymous grievance line. While, clearly management wants all workers to always feel safe, they are proud of these results and continue to endeavor to make sure abuse is not an issue faced by their workers in or outside their facility.

Once again Labor Solutions has been highlighted in Nike’s annual FY 2019 Impact Report as an important partner in strengthening the resiliency and capability of its supply chain. Labor Solutions’ worker engagement mobile technology platform, WOVO, is being used by contract manufacturers to meet Nike’s leadership standards for grievance processes. Under these standards, workers must be able to raise grievances anonymously and confidentially without fear of retaliation. Additionally, suppliers must track grievances and responds to workers in a timely manner. WOVO, in addition to providing access to anonymous two-way communication, allows suppliers to track worker grievances and gain actionable insight on worker wellbeing. Labor Solutions was also recognized in the report as a facilitator for Nike’s Engagement and Wellbeing (EWB) survey. This survey is now open sourced and available for anyone to use. The EWB provides suppliers with a holistic, comprehensive view of the worker experience, as well as actionable data which can be used for continuous improvement. To learn more about Labor Solutions’ partnership with Nike, see page 32 of the report. Note: At the publication of this report, Labor Solutions was still part of Workplace Options, thus Labor Solutions' work is attributed to Workplace Options.

Labor Solutions seeks to change the way buyers view risks in their supply chain; Rather than asking "is there sexual harassment in my supply chain?," we want buyers to ask, "how did my suppliers handle an allegation of sexual harassment?" While the latter requires a more nuanced assessment, it aligns with reality and ensures that when inevitable risks emerge, suppliers are incentivized and equipped to manage them in a way that protects the worker, supplier and brand, not just the supplier. The following case demonstrates how Labor Solutions' tools uncovered sexual harassment and led to a dialogue that created lasting change within a facility. Background and Tools: WOVO's Connect feature is a supplier-led communication and grievance case management system that allows for global brand oversight. Questions, reports and suggestions are received daily by employers around the world and range in content from gratitude to serious concerns. As employers use WOVO to respond to workers, workers gain trust in the system. Trust leads to an increase in the volume of messages and in severity of topics. When employers fail to respond to workers concerns with respect and integrity, the volume of messages decreases. This model allows buyers to identify supplier risks as well as observe the health of the supplier-worker relationships, by simply looking at the volume of messages received over time. Key to success is not penalizing suppliers for the receipt of a grievance. Rather a collaborative approach and a focus on ensuring remediation occurs. Case: A sexual harassment allegation was made by a worker using WOVO. The worker reported that women in the facility were being humiliated, and verbally and physically harassed. The factory was able to use WOVO to respond to the worker, gather additional information and initiate an investigation. Management identified the offenders and placed them on immediate leave while completing the investigation. In a review with the factory, the brand noticed the message and was able to see the case management and reports. The brand asked for additional steps to be taken to address the report. With this interaction the factory saw their client, the brand, as a partner, not as a threat, and was open to collaboration. The investigation included extensive interviews and sought to determine the breath and length of the abuse. Impact: The conclusion of the investigation indicated that the offenders were guilty and as a result were terminated. Beyond their termination, the factory continued to work on the issue by updating policies and procedures, establishing a gender-based violence working group, adding additional CCTV and providing additional training for all managers in the factory, as well as all workers. The victims were also provided with support from counselors. All actions taken by the factory were announced using the WOVO newsletter and broadcast functions, to ensure all workers were aware. Communicating these actions was important for the factory to build back the environment of trust between workers and management. Results were clear, workers' trust in the effectiveness of the system increased, and there was a 600% increase in utilization following the resolution of the case. Due to the nature of the case the factory and brand have asked for their names not to be shared, but are happy that their story and the lessons learned can be.

With the recent outbreak of coronavirus, novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), we know everyone is on high alert. Many factories and workplaces have extended holidays and others are just now returning to work and worried about what could happen next.   Even if you think your workers are not at risk, with so much unknown, it is never a bad idea to take extra precautions.  Large populations of people, like factories can feel stressed and worried about contagion during a crisis. Supporting workers and ensuring a healthy and safe working environment is critical to reducing risks and maintaining production levels throughout this crisis. Below we discuss five steps that you may consider enacting while communities are still at high alert: Prevent, Prepare, Inform, Educate and Listen. We’ve also provided resources throughout the article to help you and your team. Listen to a webinar by our partners Workplace Options and ISOS: “Building Psychological Immunity During the Coronavirus Outbreak." To listen to the recording click the links below: English Chinese PREVENT The first thing to do is prevent an outbreak of the virus from starting at your workplace. Take the following steps to make sure workers don’t bring the virus to work. Institute and communicate clear policies about people with the flu or flu like symptoms If a worker is infected with the virus, or has been in direct contact with someone who has symptoms of the virus they should be denied access to work and sent home for isolation and advised to see a doctor If a worker recently returned from a trip to Wuhan, China during (or just prior to) the outbreak, consider whether the employee ought to be sent home for isolation. Workers with a fever should not come to work. Identify people who may be at risk and ensure they seek medical care and stay home and away from work while they are sick. Ensure that work travel follows government travel advice and bans If workers have not all returned from Chinese New Year, have a plan to identify workers who may have been in contact with someone who has the symptoms of the virus. Use WOVO surveys to gather information in advance (ask your client adviser for example questions) PREPARE Preparation is key to avoid the spread of the virus. With large populations of people at a factory, extra precautions may need to be taken to ensure a healthy and safe working environment. Consider enacting the following measures: Provide flu-prevention supplies, such as anti-bacteria soap, hand sanitizer, tissues, trash baskets, and face-masks. If you have an on-site clinic, make sure your health professionals have the necessary resources and are up to date on care protocol Prepare for absences Create a plan for checking and monitoring workers who are absence because of the flu. Use WOVO surveys to reach out to them and collect data. Identify a place that can be used for sick people Consider increasing the space between workers on the line. Health experts say that creating 1 meter of distance between workers can decrease the spread of the flu. Consider doing a deep clean of the workplace. Make sure to use anti-bacteria soap to kill germs. Consider canceling work events Make sure that those preparing food continue to follow health guidelines. Create communication plan for if a worker is identified as having the virus and ensure that local authorities are alerted. Get help from an outside adviser INFORM Workers, especially those who have not yet returned to work, may be extremely nervous about how the coronavirus will impact their health and job. Make sure to continuously communicate with workers on what you are doing to keep them safe.  Increased communication will also help ensure more workers return to work following the extended holiday. McKinsey & Company’s report on CONVID-19  says adopting a two-way communication system with workers is critical during a crisis. The report says these systems act as a clear source of truth, provide workers with confidential reporting mechanism and help employers have a clearer understanding of what is going. Remind workers, using WOVO, of standard health guidelines for keeping workers healthy, including not coming to work when they are sick, washing their hands and wearing masks. Use WOVO newsletters to communicate to workers your plan and what you are doing to address the current outbreak. If workers are away from work, don’t forget that you can still connect with them using WOVO. Reach out and keep them updated on new developments, like when your facility will reopen and transportation. Use WOVO Broadcast Messages to get the information out quickly. For example: When an emergency happens and an urgent action needs to be taken A new development of the pandemic that everyone needs to know immediately A new action/policy adopted by the government or the company that employees need to be informed about on a timely manner. For example, change of working hours, leave policies or HSE protocol EDUCATE Not being informed or receiving outdated information during a pandemic increase workers’ uncertainty and stress. It is important to keep workers informed about the facts and actions they can take at home to stay healthy. The information management sends to workers should be updated, accurate and concise. Remember, you are not the expert of the pandemic. Check reliable sources like the World Health Organization (visit daily for updates and information) and use links within your posts to help workers identify fact verses fiction. Promote the daily practice of everyday preventive actions at all times, like washing hands and covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Posters and brochures can be found here. Use WOVO’s Newsletter on a specific subject about the pandemic (contact your client adviser for sample newsletters) The facts about the pandemic – how it’s transmitted, affected demographic groups and area How to avoid contracting the virus – Dos and Don’ts. How to take care of family members during a pandemic LISTEN Pandemics are scary and make many people anxious. If your company is put on a temporary shutdown, your employees may need additional support and assurance in order to stay calm and retained. If your company resumes production amid speculation of an outbreak, your employees may be more prone to emotional turbulence, stress and conflicts. Use WOVO to encourage them to speak up, address their concerns and provide resources with psychological support: Send out broadcast messages to let workers know that management is listening and here to help Use Connect to address to workers’ questions and requests or to point them to the correct authorities Ensure cases with Emergency Trigger Words get addressed with priority Conduct Survey to quickly get updates about their situations, whereabouts and concerns Send out a Newsletter or update My Company to list tips on how to cope with stress Use data from Reporting to take targeted preventative or remedial actions If you need templates for any of the newsletters, broadcasts or surveys suggested above reach out to your client adviser. This is a time that requires understanding, collaboration and trust among everyone at the company. The Labor Solutions team is here to help. If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to share them with us, either through your Client Advisor or via the HelpDesk button on your WOVO Dashboard.

Read in Español Mexico is making mental health mandatory in all workplaces. With Phase 1 released in October 2019 and going into full effect in October 2020, Mexican Labor Law NOM-035-STPS-2018 mandated that companies identify, analyze, and prevent occupational psychosocial risk factors while promoting a favorable workplace. No matter what type of company you may be, Labor Solutions can support you in deploying the NOM-035 survey and meeting the requirements you need to get your business compliant. Background: Addressing poor psychosocial conditions at work increases participation and productivity and reduces employee turnover. The UN’s International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that 50-60% of all lost workdays can be attributed to workplace stress. This issue is especially acute in Mexico, where according to Instituto Mexicano Del Seguro Social, 75% of Mexicans suffer from work related stress; more than citizens of China or the US. Now is the time for companies operating in Mexico to reduce psychosocial risks in their workplaces and get NOM-035 compliant. The law: Here’s what you need to know about NOM-035: NOM-035 requirements and obligations for employers can be grouped in the following categories: Create and establish policies for the prevention of psychosocial risk factors. Adopt measures to prevent and control psychosocial risk factors. Identify and bring to attention workers that have been exposed to severe traumatic events such as accidents, assaults, instances of violence, kidnappings, or situations where their life or health is compromised. Identify psychosocial risk factors using a worker survey. Identify psychosocial risk factors and evaluate the workplace using a worker survey. Take actions and control measures on the psychosocial risk factors identified in the workplace. Practice medical examinations and evaluations of workers that have been exposed to risk factors. Publish a summary of surveys’ results and the information about the prevention measures, the implemented measures, and the tools to report bad practices. Record keeping and evidence handling in relation to each obligation indicated How we can help: 1. As the industry leader with eight years’ experience designing and implementing surveys that engage, educate, and connect workers, Labor Solutions can roll out NOM-035’s required survey with your company, including its specific scoring and weighting requirements. The purpose of NOM-035’s survey is to identify occupational psychosocial risk factors and assess conditions for a favorable workplace and is mandatory for every workplace in Mexico. No matter the size of your team, we can help. One of our recent surveys reached over 350,000 workers. Leveraging our experience getting real results and follow through from surveys, we can turn your NOM-35 compliance obligation into an opportunity for promoting decent work conditions across your supply chain. 2. Our customizable mobile app and digital user dashboard WOVO allows workers companies to roll out the NOM-035 survey more efficiently than a paper audit. The law suggests using a digital tool to deploy the NOM-035 survey. Our WOVO Dashboard allows companies to monitor NOM-035 survey results live with built-in analytics, so employers can identify, assess, and remediate psychosocial risks as they arise. WOVO can also streamline your data through integrating NOM-035 requirements into your company’s standard worker survey or variations of the industry standard Nike Employee Well-Being (EWB) Survey. To reach more workers and identify issues as they arise, our anonymous two-way worker communication tool Connect can be integrated into a company’s NOM-035 rollout. This allows workers to safely and confidentially raise issues to management as they arise, allowing for faster and easier responses to psychosocial risks. 3. Labor Solutions offers tailored, bespoke solutions that meet facilities and brands where they are to establish actionable policies to prevent psychosocial risks from arising in their supply chains. Facility follow-up on psychosocial risk cases is an obligation under NOM-035. While helpful, drafting policies and procedures around intangible social issues – especially on sensitive and ambiguous topics like psychosocial risks – often devolve into tick-box exercises. Facilities might fill out a sheet or sign a document without knowing or being incentivized to act on results. Not every facility or company is at the same level of knowing or understanding how to prevent psychosocial risks. Labor Solutions can leverage our experience to meet you where you are and get the follow-up you need. Complying with NOM-35 prevents short-term regulatory risks. But working with Labor Solutions on NOM-35 compliance is one step towards a more holistic solution for your business: helping your workforce thrive. Surveys are crucial to preventing occupational psychological risks and promoting a favorable workplace, but they are just the first step of an effective, holistic employee engagement program. Factory buy-in on survey results, follow-through, continuous improvement for workers’ everyday experience, and educational tools such as Labor Solutions’ eLearning platform are essential to worker and employer success. Get in touch with Labor Solutions to find out how you can use NOM-035 requirements as a jumping off point to build your team’s Worker Engagement Strategy.

Background Like many factories in Asia, Indonesian apparel manufacturer Hwaseung decided to temporarily halt its operations and send workers home in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Naturally, their workers had questions and concerns about their future job status and what would happen in the meantime. They sought clarification about COVID and hoped to get support from their management. Progress Workers had been using WOVO prior to the pandemic, but with the sudden change they doubled their usage of it to express concerns about their job security and reduced orders. Hwaseung management recognized that WOVO was key to keeping communication channels open and workers engaged. The factory even formed a WOVO Committee to better manage incoming messages and to develop communication strategies to keep workers engaged and updated while they were offsite. This resulted in expedited responses to and resolution of workers’ inquiries. Outcome Hwaseung is thankful they had WOVO during the crisis, noting that WOVO helped them “better communicate with our workers during COVID-19” as workers were able to use the WOVO App to ask about COVID-19 policies. Even in normal times Hwaseung appreciates the value of WOVO, saying “when we really cannot meet workers in person, WOVO helps us communicate with employees and respond to their questions and complaints.”

As 13,000 EU and 4,000 Non-EU Based Firms Held Accountable Under New Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Law Photo courtesy of Google Images The EU Commission released a proposal for the long-awaited Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence law. The proposed law would hold companies liable for adverse human rights or environmental impacts from their direct business activities and those of their suppliers. The law also requires companies to take active preventive measures, including conducting risk assessments at least once a year and before any major business decision. Now if breaches in duty-of-care are found within a company’s supply chain, the company will risk sanctions and lawsuits in Europe. The proposed law puts the protection of the environment and human rights at the heart of companies’ business model. “We can no longer turn a blind eye on what happens down our value chains,” said Didier Reynders, the European Union’s commissioner for justice. "These are critically needed incentives and will be immensely impactful for workers globally. Human rights due diligence is now becoming a prerequisite to doing business globally.” By creating high standards, the law aims to provide EU companies with more leverage to push global suppliers to improve conditions. “These are critically needed incentives and will be immensely impactful for workers globally. Human rights due diligence is now becoming a prerequisite to doing business globally,” remarked Elena Fanjul-Debnam, Labor Solutions’ CEO. “Unfortunately, until the passage of this law and similar ones in other countries, business looked at protecting human rights as something ‘they should do,’ now it is something ‘they must do.’” “Unfortunately, until the passage of this law and similar ones in other countries, business looked at protecting human rights as something ‘they should do,’ now it is something ‘they must do.’” Until now, a lack of legal incentives resulted in corporations ignoring human rights violations in their supply chain or focusing on surface level risk identification and removal, not remediation or prevention. At Labor Solutions, we believe remediation and prevention must be at the center of any human rights strategy. Policing suppliers and setting up a global grievance line is simply not enough. To effectively ensure human rights, companies must partner with their suppliers to improve governance, human resource systems, hiring practices and communications with workers. We are excited to see rules and regulations that support and promote this strategy. Photo courtesy of Labor Solutions To meet the growing need for robust human rights due diligence, Labor Solutions has launched a Human Rights Due Diligence Program. The suite of tools and advisory services include support designing and implementing scalable human rights risk assessment and improvement systems, policies, and programs in line with pending legislation in the EU, US, and Canada. Variations of our program are now functioning at scale for over a dozen brands headquartered in Europe. Labor Solutions' supplier ownership, empowerment and improvement approach, is not only scalable, but also allows companies to tackle the problem at the source and collect unparalleled data sets. Our solutions are designed to help your business go beyond tick-box solutions and meet the intention of these laws; creating sustainable solutions customized to your business and built around respect and trust between workers, buyers, suppliers, and brands. According to a recent article in Reuters: “The main criterion would be that a firm employs more than 500 people and has net turnover of more than 150 million euros.” This would apply to an estimated 13,000 EU and 4,000 Non-EU Based Firms. After two years, the range would be expanded to 250 employees and 40 million turnover, including smaller businesses in so-called high-impact sectors, such as textiles, food products and mining. Since the law demands wide-scale implementation across complex supply chains, companies liable under the law need to start preparing now or face fines later. Human Rights Due Diligence legislation + mandates are increasingly becoming common place globally; businesses of all shapes and sizes should not risk falling behind. To find out more about this new law and how it might impact your business, get in touch with Labor Solutions here or at info@laborsolutions.tech .

Photo: The New York Times Background China’s dynamic zero-COVID policy has brought uncertainty across the nation and in early 2022, shut down manufacturing plants and factories critical to global supply chains. One factory in China using Labor Solutions’ WOVO experienced an unexpected lockdown during Chinese New Year; a festive period where many workers were already at home visiting their families. When one COVID-19 case was identified in their facility, factory management followed the government’s policy and took rapid response to ensure every remaining factory employee was quarantined in their dormitory. During that period, WOVO helped factory management stay connected with both employees in the dormitory and those celebrating at home with their families, building long-lasting patterns of trust between workers and their managers. How WOVO Helped: Factory management posted a Newsletter on WOVO with the latest government mandated COVID-19 testing requirement and procedure. Factory managers sent messages to assuage employees’ anxiety and improve confidence + trust between workers and managers. For employees back at home and away from the factory site, management used WOVO’s Broadcast Feature to share the reopen date, remind them follow government’s anti-group-gathering policy, and encourage them to take a PCR test before arriving back at the factory. Workers away from the factory used WOVO Connect to tell their managers when they were placed under home quarantine and clarify why they were unable to return to work in time, improving staff retention and communication between workers and managers. Management also launched a feature through the WOVO app where workers whose friends or relatives joined the factory received a financial reward. This helped to strengthen employees’ engagement with factory while ensuring the factory met staffing goals. Result After three weeks of quarantine and zero positive COVID-19 cases, the factory resumed normal production. Employees leveraged the WOVO app to express their sincere gratitude for factory management’s communication and emotional support during these uncertain times. Based on the positive impact from WOVO, factory management is now considering leveraging WOVO to provide psychological support services so that all workers are aware of how they can raise and cope with concerns during this and future challenging times. To ensure your company’s factories have the support they need for support and communication in uncertain times, get in touch at info@laborsolutions.tech or here: https://www.laborsolutions.tech/contact

Read in Español , Việt Nam , 中文 In 2021, Labor Solutions’ tools became critical to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. We supported leading organizations, like Better Work, to promote worker rights and wellbeing. We built partnerships with international organizations such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) , Winrock International, and USAID CTIP to support the sustainable and valuable change our industry needs. Now Labor Solutions serves over 1,500,000 workers in 25 countries and 24 languages. In 2022 Labor Solutions will continue to focus on work on building resilient workplaces and supply chains while educating , connecting , and engaging workers, buyers, suppliers, and brands. We will also focus on providing tailored issue-specific programs with a focus four key areas: Human Rights and Legislative and Corporate Due Diligence Building + Fire Safety Forced Labor and Responsible Recruitment (Migrant Worker Focus) Gender Equity and Gender Based Violence and Harassment (GBVH) Labor Solutions will provide data-driven and tailored advisory services, policy development and integration, program design and implementation. Our team can customize and deliver global worker surveys , offer tailored eLearnin g for supplier management, workers, or other stakeholders in your supply chains, and provide internal capacity building . The Labor Solutions team will continue to not only provide technology solutions but ensure successful and sustainable implementations through advisory services aimed at supporting and enabling social eco-systems. Our goal is to not only help you meet corporate due diligence laws but to also affect change and improve lives. Expanding our Advisory Services Labor Solutions continues to develop subject matter expertise by building a team with extensive experience. Zuzana Mocilenkova, joins the Labor Solutions team in 2022 as the Vice President of Brand Advisory Services , bringing a unique point of view and understanding of to challenges faced by internal brand stakeholders. She will be key in helping clients enhance and rebuild their sustainability initiatives to meet increasing legislative demands. Ms. Mocilenkova's joins other recent additions to the team, Senior Directors of eLearning and Worker Engagement , and new client advisors serving Europe and Latin America. Our global teams reflect ever changing supply chain map. Diversifying partnerships in gender and forced labor In 2022 Labor Solutions will continue to build partnerships with industry leaders to better support clients and provide wholistic solutions. In 2022 Labor Solutions will focus on enhancing our gender and responsible recruitment workstreams. Why Gender? Nearly 190 million women work in the global supply chain, making up 41% of the workforce but a declining percentage of management. Few industry standards and assessments thoroughly consider the impact of labor conditions, cultural norms, and stress on women in the workplace. Women continue to make up a minority in facility, supplier, and union management. Valuable perspectives persistently go unheard, and in many cases, never even get a seat at the table. Meaningful and scalable change is needed to protect and promote women throughout the supply chain. Over the last decade, our technology tools have supported women by giving them a voice, connecting them to information and providing education tools that help equitable workplace advancement. In 2022, the Labor Solutions team will build on these learnings, add additional trainings, and work with key industry stakeholders to help brands and suppliers improve workplaces for women. As an organization proudly founded, owned, and operated by women, Labor Solutions is excited to enhance our capacity to serve and support women in global supply chains. Why Responsible Recruitment? Over the past two years, COVID-19 has exposed the additional risks posed to the 169 million people who migrate internationally for a job. An estimated  24.9 million people  are victims of  forced labor ; working against their will and under threat of punishment and beginning with enormous debt from their recruitment process. Only through engaging workers, employers and agencies can we effectively combat forced labor. In 2022, Labor Solutions looks forward to supporting brands, agencies and employers in identifying and preventing forced labor through worker surveys, advisory services, grievance mechanisms and eLearning tools. We look forward to continued innovation and expansion in 2022. As always we are thankful for our brand, supplier and multi-stakeholder partners who have supported our success thus far. Labor Solutions, a social enterprise, leverages technology to connect, engage and educate workers to build resilient supply chains. Over a million and a half workers in 25 countries have access to Labor Solutions’ worker engagement platform, WOVO.