Consumers obviously need to be able to compare factories and firms through harmonised or comparable audits. Procedures are thus needed to compare monitors and their monitoring methods. This kind of harmonisation and accountability exists in the financial auditing field, but not in the labour practice arena. There is also a need to establish systems which insulate against conflicts of interest for monitors. It is also critical that workers be involved more centrally in monitoring practices.
Workers are almost always closest to problems in a factory.
They should thus play a central role in analysing and reporting on working conditions. Workers should be given clear assurances and protections for reporting problems, and local NG0s and worker-support organisations should be involved in monitoring and verifying these conditions.