ILAB Project Page Search

Promoting acceptable working conditions in trade partner countries helps the U.S. create a fair playing field for its own workforce and for U.S. companies that play by the rules. This project seeks to ensure that workers in the agricultural export sector in Guatemala, with whom the U.S. has a free trade agreement, receive at least the minimum wage, work within legal hours of work limits, receive due compensation for overtime, and operate in a safe working environment. A particular focus is on improving the capacity of the labor inspectorate and judiciary to become more efficient and effective in investigating violations regarding acceptable conditions of work in the agricultural export sector.

The Sakriya project (Sakriya means "active" in Nepali) worked to build the capacity of Nepalese civil society to more effectively detect and combat forced child labor and other labor abuses in Nepal's brick, embroidery, and carpet weaving sectors. It leveraged partnerships across Nepal's child protection networks to facilitate access to services for survivors of labor abuses and to reduce the risk that adults and children will be forced into harmful work in these sectors.

The BuildCA2P Project works to build the capacity of Filipino civil society to more effectively detect and combat child labor and other labor abuses in the agricultural sector in Mindanao, Philippines. It leverages partnerships with academic and advocacy organizations to build a grassroots movement, empower vulnerable families, connect survivors to grievance mechanisms and services, and reduce the risk that children will be harmed by performing hazardous work in agriculture.

Workers and civil society organizations help to supplement and support government labor law enforcement efforts by proactively identifying potential labor violations and filing justiciable complaints with the appropriate authorities. This project works in U.S. trade partner countries to improve labor law enforcement, as well as compliance with labor-related U.S. trade provisions, by improving the involvement of workers and civil society organizations in this process.

The Research to Action (R2A) Project applies rigorous research methods in an effort to accelerate global action against child labor and forced labor. The project seeks to help policymakers and practitioners access relevant research and evaluation tools, identifies key knowledge gaps, and facilitates the development of a global research agenda to guide new policy-relevant research efforts. To that end, the project also seeks to broaden and diversify the researcher pool, increasing both the number and capacity of researchers working to shed light on these abusive labor practices.

The Child Labor Improvements in Bangladesh (CLIMB) project built the capacity of civil society to more effectively detect and combat forced child labor and other labor abuses in the dried fish sector in Bangladesh. It leveraged partnerships with academic and community-based organizations to build a grassroots movement, empower vulnerable families, connect survivors to services and reduce the risk that children would be forced into this harmful work.

This project helps businesses establish systems to prevent, detect and eliminate child labor and other forms of labor exploitation from their supply chains. It is assembling a powerful coalition of coffee buyers to collectively incentivize compliance among suppliers. In doing so, the project promotes supply chains that are free of exploitative labor and helps to create a fair playing field for workers in the U.S. and around the world.

This project is building the capacity of civil society organizations to more effectively detect and combat child labor and other unacceptable working conditions (OUWC) in artisanal and small-scale mines in Colombia. Pilares formed networks of civil society organizations and empowered local communities to build grassroots movements to improve working conditions and reduce the risk that children will be used in this harmful work.

This project supports the Peruvian government and other labor stakeholders to build their capacity to prevent, detect, and eliminate forced labor and labor trafficking from workplaces in Peru. By bringing together the Ministry of Labor, regional and local governments, law enforcement officials, and the judiciary branch, the project aims to encourage better enforcement through consultation and consensus building.

This project supported the Dominican government’s efforts to combat child labor and strengthen labor law enforcement. Building off the commitment of the Ministry of Labor, the project helped promote supply chains free of exploitative labor and a fair playing field for workers in the U.S. and around the world.