Improving Workers’ Rights in the Rural Sectors of the Indo Pacific with a Focus on Women
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Despite the significance of the agriculture, fishing, and mining industries to the US’ trade relations with Philippines and Indonesia, these sectors are characterized by poverty and poor working conditions, especially at the lower tiers of the supply chain in rural areas. This projects aims to address these issues through a varied mix of coordinated and gender-responsive interventions to contribute to the strengthening of national frameworks (to include national and regional tripartite mechanisms) on labor, gender equality and OSH, and an enabling environment to promote compliance in these rural areas.
The Problem
Despite the significance of the agriculture, fishing and seafood, and mining industries to the US’ trade relations with Philippines and Indonesia, these sectors are characterized by poverty and poor working conditions, especially at the lower tiers of the supply chain in rural areas. This can be attributed to among others, widespread informality in these sectors, use of ambiguous employment relationships and non-standard forms of employment (even in the higher tiers of the supply chain/ value chain), low wages and other issues related to payment of wages, long working hours, unsafe and hazardous working conditions- all of which are conditions which make these sectors at higher risk of more serious violations such as forced labor and child labor.
Our Strategy
This project then aims to address these issues through a varied mix of coordinated and gender-responsive interventions from improved standards-setting and promotion mechanisms on labor and OSH, targeted labor inspection and enforcement and availability and accessibility of appropriate technical advisory services, and improved capacity of social partners to engage in effective social dialogue within the supply/ value chain, starting at the workplace level in pilot enterprises and to include the rural communities where these enterprises source from, to cover the informal sector.
Results
Through these short term outcomes, the project expects to contribute to the strengthening of national frameworks (to include national and regional tripartite mechanisms) on labor, gender equality and OSH, and; and an enabling environment to promote compliance in these rural areas.
- Grantee:
- International Labor Organization (ILO)
- Contact Information:
- (202) 693-4900 / Office of Trade and Labor Affairs (OTLA)
- Tags:
- Trade
- Factory
- Women’s Empowerment
