Workers

The Worker Empowerment in South America project seeks to improve respect for labor rights in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru by strengthening democratic, independent workers' organizations in the agricultural, platform (gig) economy, manufacturing, and mining sectors.

The Project to Increase Worker Voice and Address Forced Labor, Child Labor, and Other Labor Violations in Cattle Raising Areas of Brazil and Paraguay will help to increase collective action by workers organizations (WOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) to address forced labor, child labor, and other labor violations in cattle raising areas of Brazil and Paraguay, specifically in the Brazilian State of Mato Grosso do Sul and in the Paraguayan Department of Boquerón in the Chaco region.

The Una Cosecha Justa project aims to increase protections for workers and reduce the risk of child labor, forced labor, and other labor rights violations among indigenous and migrant workers in the chile pepper and tomato sectors. The project will mobilize government officials, employers, workers, workers’ organizations, agricultural outreach workers, community leaders, and civil society organizations to address labor violations and increase worker engagement in advocating for their labor rights. 

This project will strengthen the capacity of unions to organize by legitimizing collective bargaining agreements, supporting internal leadership elections, building partnerships, and providing independent unions with legal support and training for lawyers. The project will operate in the Mexican states of Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi, Queretaro, Estado de Mexico and Mexico City, as well as Mexico’s northern states by promoting authentic collective bargaining in the automotive, auto parts, aerospace, call centers, electronics, garment, industrial bakeries, logistics and mining sectors.

This project seeks to promote greater compliance with labor law and standards for acceptable conditions of work, including occupational safety and health, hours of work, and wages in the DRC’s mining, distribution, and construction/public works sectors.

Part of the Root Causes of Migration Strategy for northern Central America, the Promoting Safe and Healthy Workplaces in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador (PREP4Change) project seeks to improve occupational safety and health (OSH) conditions for workers in the sugar and garment (maquila) sectors. The project will focus on workplace illnesses and injuries, chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes (CKDnt), and COVID-19.

This project will promote greater compliance with labor law and increase workers’ access to judicial and non-judicial remedies for labor violations in Armenia, with a focus on the mining and service sectors.

The Improving Working Conditions in the Mexican Automotive Supply Chain project is working to improve the quality of inspections and inspection follow-ups conducted by labor inspectors; strengthen government administration and coordination of the labor inspectorate and other institutions involved in labor law enforcement; and  strengthen the ability of labor courts and other institutions to effectively conciliate and adjudicate labor cases, including administration and coordination of union representation challenges.