Lesson-110807-4

The presence of experienced staff dedicated to advancing private sector due diligence is crucial to SENDEROS’ progress under Outcome 2 ("Increased compliance with labor laws, including occupational safety and health and other unacceptable conditions of work, by private sector stakeholders in the agricultural sector") so far. Having staff focused on advancing due diligence in the private sector, such as social workers, facilitates collaboration between the project team and supply chains in the implementation of SENDEROS activities. To date, SENDEROS has had the most success in Outcome 2 activities with private sector stakeholders who are more open to hiring dedicated staff to work on due diligence matters. The project is gaining more traction with these types of organizations because they have dedicated staff available to support project activities. Interventions that have most benefited from this staffing approach are the due diligence tools, such as codes of conduct and hiring policies and procedures in the sugarcane sector, and the issuance of payment vouchers for workers in the tobacco sector.