Abstract
Better Work Ethiopia is part of the ILO’s ‘Advancing Decent Work and Inclusive Industrialization in Ethiopia’ (SIRAYE programme). It expanded its presence in the country from 29 participating factories in 2019 to 42 in 2020, despite the challenging circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The factories enrolled in the programme experienced a production downturn in the first quarter of 2020, with order cancellations by major buyers and a shortage of raw materials, which posed a significant obstacle to meet their operating and administrative costs. Even in this complex scenario, the programme started to roll out an innovative, integrated factory service model combining the expertise of various technical departments of the ILO. As a result of the programme’s advisory services, factories established OSH committees and strengthened their OSH management systems and social dialogue mechanisms.