USDOL’s ILAB Grant for Improving Workers’ Rights in Central American Agricultural and Maquila Sectors

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL, or the Department), announces the availability of approximately $5,000,000 total costs (subject to the availability of federal funds) for a cooperative agreement to fund one technical assistance project with the overarching objective of improving respect for workers’ rights in agricultural supply chains in Honduras and Guatemala and the maquila sector in El Salvador through a worker-centered approach. The project will prioritize underserved communities and include a focus on gender and racial equity. In particular, this project will address the systemic violation of internationally-recognized workers’ rights in the export-oriented agricultural sector in Honduras and Guatemala and the maquila sector in El Salvador.

The project is expected to achieve the following outcomes:

• Outcome 1: Increased collective action to exercise workers’ rights among agricultural and maquila workers, particularly those from underserved communities; 

• Outcome 2: Improved effectiveness of worker organizations to train, represent and advocate for agricultural and maquila workers to attain improved wages, working conditions and job security; and,

• Outcome 3: Improved effective engagement by workers and worker organizations with government officials and employers to negotiate, address and resolve workers’ rights concerns.

The project will work with 1) agricultural and maquila workers, particularly those not yet affiliated with unions and workers from underserved communities, including Afro-descendant, Garifuna, rural, non-Spanish speaking or indigenous populations, and women; 2) workers’ organizations that (currently or seek to) represent the collective interests of workers in agricultural supply chains in Honduras and Guatemala, and in El Salvador’s maquila sector and their members; and 3) private sector and public sector representatives and entities that serve, interact with, employ or otherwise depend upon agricultural and maquila workers in the region. To the extent possible, the project will strengthen information and knowledge management capabilities to help workers’ organizations and other stakeholders gather, collect, analyze, store, share and use data to better defend their rights, engage in dialogue, hold responsible parties accountable and enable workers to exercise their rights more effectively.

The duration of the project will be a maximum of 4.5 years (54 months) from the effective date of the award.