Building upon previous impact evaluation research on school dropout and human trafficking, the GUARDIAN project aims to expand the pool of rigorous evidence on what works to combat child labor. The project acronym combines several important aspects of the project’s approach. The word “glocal”—which means to combine the global and the local—comes from the project’s dual emphasis on taking rigorous evidence from around the globe and applying it in a context-sensitive manner with local partners. The acronym also emphasizes the purpose of the project’s current research:  to directly inform efforts to assist and inspire children in Guatemala to stay in school and avoid child labor, including child trafficking.

The strengthening Mexican inspectorate for labor enforcement (CAMINOS) project aims to improve government systems for labor law enforcement through improved enforcement of labor laws by federal and state labor inspectorate, better administration of inspections, and enhanced engagement with supply chain actors in targeted USMCA sectors.

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. 

To achieve this, the project will work with labor stakeholders at the state and federal levels in communities that both send and receive migrant workers to develop strategies to empower workers and link them to social protection systems. In addition, the project will raise workers’ awareness of their labor rights and how to report violations.  The project will focus on the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Guerrero, and Oaxaca.

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.

The Sustentar project aims to increase private sector stakeholders’ accountability to uphold core labor standards consistent with Mexican labor laws and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s (USMCA) Labor Chapter, with a specific focus on addressing child labor, forced labor, and acceptable conditions of work.  The project will include a focus on states that produce chile peppers and tomatoes, including Baja California, Baja California Sur, and Chihuahua.

The project will work with civil society and workers' organizations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to strengthen their capacity and bolster their collaboration with government agencies, the private sector and other stakeholders to protect labor rights and reduce child labor and forced labor. The project will focus on organizations that represent indigenous, Afro-descendant, and Garifuna populations, while promoting gender and racial equity.

The project aims to build the capacity of civil society organizations around the world to advance the fight against child labor by raising the voices of workers, advocates, and other civil society representatives.

The Enhancing Labor Conciliation in Mexico project aims to support the state-level conciliation institutions established by the 2019 Mexican Labor Law Reform to help workers, unions, and employers prevent and resolve labor disputes in a transparent and efficient manner.

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.