Futuros Brillantes: Project to Reduce Child Labor and Improve Labor Rights and Working Conditions in Honduras
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The Problem
In Honduras, more than 370,000 children are economically active. Families often lack adequate educational and livelihood opportunities, which can push children to engage in child labor. To improve the economic situation of children and families, the Ministry of Labor needs to improve its capacity to identify and use all available tools to help ensure remediation of labor law violations related to freedom of association and the rights to organize and bargain collectively.
Our Strategy
The first objective of Futuros Brillante is to reduce child labor and improve labor rights in Honduras, particularly in agricultural areas of southern Honduras and in the San Pedro Sula area. The second objective is to work with the Honduran Government, industry, and other stakeholders to build the STSS’ capacity to identify and use all available tools to help ensure remediation of labor law violations related to freedom of association and the rights to organize and bargain collectively in the maquiladora sector.
Project Objectives:
- Provide formal or non-formal educational or vocational training services to children and youth
- Provide households economic strengthening services
- Establish Workers’ Rights Centers
- Train and build the capacity of Honduran labor inspectors to identify and document violations of labor rights, including of the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining and to use all available tools to help remediate these violations
- Develop an Electronic Case Management System (ECMS) which will permit the recording of labor violations in a more effective, efficient, and transparent manner.
- Build the capacity of Honduras’ National Statistics Institute (INE) to conduct the country’s first ever National Child Labor Survey, which, upon completion, will deepen their knowledge about the situation of child labor and help inform policies, programming, and projects to improve the situation of these vulnerable groups.
Results
- More than 6,000 children and youth have enrolled in formal and non-formal educational services with the project’s support in collaboration with local implementing organizations.
- The project delivered livelihood services for over 1,800 families, including through the establishment of micro enterprises, based on market studies and in collaboration with local organizations.
- In collaboration with the STSS, Futuros Brillantes trained over 500 labor inspectors on issues of child labor, worker rights, and occupational safety and health, including COVID-19 prevention.
- The project developed an e-Learning Platform for Trainings for the STSS and is currently finalizing the transfer of its electronic case management system (ECMS) to the STSS.
- The project is supporting the STSS in further strengthening labor inspections through a comprehensive six-month Honduran Labor Law course for STSS inspectors and staff, in collaboration with a national university.
- The project’s Child Labor Committee (CLCs) strategy has been incorporated by the STSS into its most recent annual operative plan to better assist children in local communities.
- The project supported the National Statistics Institute (INE) carry out the first National Child Labor Survey in Honduras, reaching 22,000 households with children aged 5 to 17 years old.
- The project has reached over 2,500,000 people to date with awareness raising campaigns on labor right, child labor, and its dangers.
- Grantee:
- World Vision
- Implementing Partners:
- CASM and Caritas
- Contact Information:
- GlobalKids@ILAB.dol.gov / Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT)
- Tags:
- Child Labor
- Coffee
- Northern Central America
