Primark My Life Training – Hearing from Female Factory Workers
The ‘My Life’ Worker Engagement Program
Primark is committed to addressing the risks that workers face in their finished goods supply chain, especially the most vulnerable workers. Primark implements programs that support worker welfare. Their worker engagement program, ‘My Life’, is a key tool to achieve this in their supply chain and forms a part of their approach to Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD).
My Life trains workers to strengthen their basic life skills to better deal with issues they may face in factories in Primark’s finished goods supply chain in India. They have piloted this in some Mills too. This program has been designed to address the risks that vulnerable people face, particularly women and domestic migrant workers. Many workers have a poor understanding of their rights or what factories should provide – for example, employment documents they can read and understand. Running since 2017 and delivered by Primark’s Ethical Trade Team in India, the program was developed in partnership with a local NGO Maitrayana, the Naz Foundation and a global NGO Women Win.
My Life equips workers with essential life skills in three key areas: communication skills, knowledge of worker rights and their responsibilities, and health practices in the workplace. Primark works closely with the factory mid-management to accommodate space and time for the training. The training is delivered in an active, participatory and engaging format known as the ‘play-based approach’ and has been adapted to fit local needs, including language requirements. The training curriculum consists of 8 modules, each focusing on a basic life skill. Workers participate in the training in groups, and each module takes around 40-45 minutes to complete with the training completed over a 1–2-month period.
Primark and 60 Decibels
Primark recognizes that a structured approach to monitoring and evaluating impact is critical to capture learnings and understand the progress of initiatives such as the My Life. Primark is committed to being a learning organization guided by data and evidence to understand the breadth and depth of impact.
To better understand and learn about the impact of My Life, Primark commissioned an independent impact assessment of the project with 60 Decibels. The goal of the assessment was to measure the impact of the training on the lives and livelihoods of factory workers, and workers in some mills where My Life has been piloted, who completed the training.
The My Life impact assessment was undertaken through phone-based surveys with 525 trained workers, a representative sample of workers who took part in the initiative in the supplier factories. We then analyzed the data actively with a gender lens to put a spotlight on the experiences and impact of migrant women, given they’re one of the most vulnerable groups of factory workers, and the program is hugely focused on positively impacting vulnerable populations.
97%
53%
1.5x
Key insights
The training appears to successfully uplift vulnerable factory workers by helping them build critical life skills both at and outside of work
The My Life training is improving workers’ communication skills
Workers report the session on “Basic Communication” to be most useful. Nearly 3 in 5 workers report their way of communication has ‘very much improved’ because of the training. Top improvements include increased confidence, better anger management, and improved relationships with coworkers. Two-thirds of the workers also ‘strongly agree’ to having a better relationship with their supervisor after the training.
Workers have developed a better understanding of their rights and responsibilities at work
Two-thirds of the workers ‘strongly agree’ to have a better understanding of their rights and responsibilities because of the My Life training. Workers mention gaining knowledge about Provident Fund (PF) and Employee State Insurance (ESI), understanding salary calculations and deductions, and increased discipline.
The intended impact of the My Life training on workers’ personal lives is high
Almost all workers report that ‘all’ or ‘most’ of the My Life training is useful in their personal lives and has led to quality of life improvements. The top quality of life improvement is on workers’ health. Reflecting specifically on personal and menstrual health outcomes, 3 in 5 workers report significant improvements. They talk about developing clean habits, improved diet and nutrition, and increased knowledge about menstrual health.
Impact on the more vulnerable groups including migrant workers, female migrant workers, and mill workers is the highest
Migrant workers experience a deeper impact compared to non-migrant workers
Compared to non-migrant workers, a higher proportion of migrant workers experience significant improvements in communication skills (70% vs. 50%), personal (74% vs. 47%) and menstrual health (70% vs. 49%), their understanding of rights and responsibilities (74% vs. 47%), and quality of life (70% vs. 38%).
Female migrant workers experience a deeper impact compared to female non-migrants
Female migrant workers are more likely to report significant improvements in communication skills (69% vs. 50%), personal (74% vs. 43%) and menstrual health (77% vs. 46%), their understanding of rights and responsibilities (72% vs. 62%), and quality of life (70% vs. 34%).
Compared to non-mill workers, mill workers appear to report deeper positive impact
Mill workers experience the highest impact on the way they / their female family members manage menstrual health and hygiene. We also observe the greatest difference in this metric between mill and non-mill workers (77% vs. 54%). This is likely due to a greater proportion of mill workers being women compared to non-mill workers (96% vs. 75%).