In partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), ECOP will be conducting a project entitled “Promoting a Culture of Compliance to Labour Standards Through Social Dialogue Among MSMEs” which is funded by the European Union (EU). This initiative is in line with the Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+), a scheme developed to help developing countries by making it easier for them to export their products to the EU at zero tariff.

To avail of the GSP+, the Philippines must comply with 27 international conventions. Against this backdrop, the project aims to raise awareness among MSMEs and their suppliers on GSP+ and develop tools to facilitate their compliance to General Labour Standards (GLS), Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS) and other pertinent international frameworks.

ECOP will be conducting workshops in Davao, Iloilo and Bulacan, among 25-30 participants representing 15 MSMEs in the house decors, furnishings, furniture, handicrafts, accessories, and food processing sectors to assess their state of awareness and compliance to the requirements of GSP+.

In the conduct of this project, ECOP has sought the participation of relevant stakeholders including the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Delegation of the European Union in the Philippines. Both organizations have expressed their willingness to collaborate with ECOP in fulfilling the goals and objectives of this initiative.

The Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) of DTI will assist ECOP in initially identifying participants in the regions to be covered by the workshops, including Pampanga, Bataan, Tarlac, Ilocos, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu, Davao, General Santos, and Cagayan de Oro. DTI’s Bureau of International Trade Relations (BITR) will also work with ECOP in the design of the workshop program. On the other hand, EU has agreed to identify a suitable resource person and the provision of workshop materials.

The first phase of this project will be conducted from September to December 2018.