The BOHESI training manual was officially launched by the Ecuadorian Minister of Labor, Raul Clemente Ledesma Huerta, the Ecuadorian Minister of Agriculture, Rubén Flores, together with representatives from the World Banana Forum (WBF) and Banana Link.
Importantly, the Ministerial Agreement MDT0-2018-0108 was also launched during this millstone event, making the training manual guidelines and supporting regulations mandatory for all banana producers in Ecuador.
BOHESI was conceptualized in 2014 under SIFAV in response to the challenges around the health and safety of banana workers. BOHESI has been developed in partnership with Solidaridad, Banana Link, and the World Banana Forum, and seeks to convene the global banana sector around more socially responsible banana production, improve the living standards of workers (particularly in relation to Health and Safety), farmers and surrounding communities.
The BOHESI manual will be distributed to union workers, public extension agents, and company workers through a train-the-trainer model, and has the potential to impact the labor rights and working conditions of approximately 55,000 Ecuadorian farmworkers. More information on BOHESI and the training manual can be found in our previous post HERE.
BOHESI have also launched an online platform where train-the-trainer sessions can be booked and the BOHESI manual and all training material can be accessed. The platform also has a portal through which you can register your progress. This is important for ensuring the credibility of training certificates, but also for monitoring overall training activities.
The manual, and the alignment of the government, workers union and big producers behind it really is an important milestone, one that IDH is certainly proud to be a part of. And, Ecuador is just the start – the banana sector of Cameroon is being engaged through a similar process. Many of the project’s partner companies also have a global sourcing base; in time, BOHESI aims to make a positive contribution to the labor rights and working conditions of banana workers globally.