The International Labour Organization (ILO), through its Vision Zero Fund and with support from Nike Inc., has awarded grants to four garment factories in Cambodia and Viet Nam under the Commuting Safety Challenge. This initiative seeks to improve commuting safety for garment workers by encouraging innovative and practical solutions to reduce accidents and promote safer travel to and from work. Out of 11 submissions, four factories were selected by a panel of experts in occupational and road safety, with contributions from the UN Road Safety Fund, Better Factories Cambodia, and the ILO Country Office for Viet Nam. The participating factories based their proposals on a Commuting Safety Assessment methodology developed by the Vision Zero Fund.
According to Ockert Dupper, Programme Manager of the ILO’s Vision Zero Fund, commuting accidents represent a major but often neglected aspect of workplace safety. He emphasized that empowering factories to take preventive action can not only save lives but also improve productivity and worker wellbeing. Similarly, Nneka Henry, Head of the UN Road Safety Fund, noted that factories implementing such initiatives demonstrate leadership in ensuring safer daily journeys for thousands of workers, particularly in the garment sector where road-related risks are high.
The winning projects include a range of interventions to tackle commuting risks. In Viet Nam, Freetrend Industrial will implement the “Your Safety, Our Priority” program, which features a rapid response traffic team, staggered shifts, monthly bus fare subsidies, and infrastructure upgrades. Fuluh Shoes will pilot a digital Commuting Safety Data Monitoring System to improve accident reporting and risk tracking. In Cambodia, Taral International will replace unsafe standing trucks with buses equipped with proper seating and conduct driver and worker training, supported by awareness campaigns. Far Eastern New Century Corporation in Viet Nam will focus on improving infrastructure, peer-to-peer safety training, and community engagement to promote safer commuting options. These initiatives are expected to benefit more than 31,000 workers, most of whom are women. Nike’s Senior Director, Sittichoke Huckuntod, highlighted that garment and footwear workers are often disproportionately affected by road accidents, and this partnership aims to reduce such risks across the supply chain. The ILO’s Vision Zero Fund will provide both financial and technical assistance to implement the selected projects between October 2025 and April 2026. The factories’ experiences will later be shared in a global webinar to inspire broader collective action for safer and more sustainable workplaces in the garment and footwear industries.
