Request for Applications: The Commuting Safety Challenge

The Commuting Safety Challenge seeks to identify and support solutions that effectively enhance commuting safety for workers in and around garment factories premises in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Egypt.

The outcomes of the solutions will be documented and widely shared, providing inspiration and a model for replication and scaling to maximize impact.

Focus Areas

• The solution must align with one or more of the eight areas outlined in the ILO Vision Zero Fund “Action manual and checklist for employers and workers in the garment and footwear sector to enhance workers’ commuting safety”, namely:
  • Enhancing individual risk awareness and commuters’ safety behaviour (solutions can include actions aimed at promoting the use of helmets or seatbelts; respecting speed limits and other traffic regulations; enforcing measures against the use of mobile phones while driving or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs);
  • Improving safety of transport available for commuting (solutions can include actions aimed at improving vehicle safety – e.g., enforcing regular inspections; complying with safety standards – e.g., avoid overloading; including safety requirements in formal contracts; etc.);
  • Assessing collective transport vehicles and their drivers;
  • Safe entry to the industrial park on/or the factory (solutions can include actions to ensure safe access to and safety within industrial parks and factory premises – e.g., safe placement of bus stops or separation of driving and pedestrian lanes)
  • Safety outside the industrial park and/or factory premises (solutions can include measures to bring down speed outside the factory gate, or safe crossing from a bus stop to the factory gate);
  • Voicing safety concerns (solutions can include measures that empower commuters to report concerns and ensure they are prioritized and addressed, such as piloting the establishment of a commuter safety complaint mechanism or a factory commuting grievance system);
  • Commuters’ preparedness in case of accidents;
  • Enhancing collection of commuter accident data (solutions can include measures to improve reporting and monitoring of commuting accidents and utilizing the data to inform factory OSH policies and programmes).

Award Information

• The selection committee will select four winners (at least one from each target country). Each winner will receive:
  • A $10,000 grant to test and implement their proposed solution;
  • Technical support from a specialist to refine and implement the solution; and
  • Global visibility: The solution will be showcased in a global webinar and featured on the VZF webpage

Eligibility Criteria

• Any formally established and registered garment factory in Cambodia, Vietnam, or Egypt that has been operational for at least two calendar years prior to the application deadline and meets the following criteria:
  • Operational History: Has been in operation for at least two years, maintains audited accounts for that period, and is not undergoing bankruptcy proceedings;
  • Labour Standards Compliance: A proven record of compliance with international or national labour standards;
  • OSH Compliance: No recent history of sanctions for violations of occupational safety and health (OSH) legislation;
  • OSH Framework: Has an established OSH policy and a functioning OSH committee or a similar bipartite body addressing OSH issues;
  • Implementation Capability: Demonstrated capacity to support the operational implementation of the proposed solution.
• Participating factories must commit to refining, implementing, and monitoring the proposed solution, including participation in regular monitoring calls.

For more information, visit ILO.