WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of up to $12.4 million in grant funding for three organizations to reduce child and forced labor in Mexico and support migrant workers. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement today requested the government of Mexico conduct a review based on its finding that a denial of workers’ rights has occurred at the Fujikura auto parts plant in Piedras Negras, Coahuila.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. and Mexico have resolved a Rapid Response Mechanism petition under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that alleged INISA2000 — an Aguascalientes, Mexico, denim garment facility — denied freedom of association and collective bargaining rights.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of up to $4 million to support a project to build the capacity of local communities in Nepal to address child labor and forced labor, with a specific focus on confronting new challenges arising from climate change.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of up to $6 million in grant funding for the Solidarity Center to advance quality jobs and labor rights in Indonesia and the Philippines.

WASHINGTON – The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement today requested the government of Mexico review an allegation that workers’ rights are being denied at the Autoliv auto parts plant in Querétaro, Mexico. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an award of up to $3 million in grant funding to the International Labor Organization to promote occupational safety and health, and counter worker discrimination and gender-based violence and harassment in Lesotho.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee made the following statement on the recent violence against unionists in Bangladesh:

“The U.S. Department of Labor is deeply concerned over the escalation of violence and crackdown on workers and trade unionists in connection with Bangladesh’s minimum wage review. The department condemns the alleged police shootings of Rasel Howlader on Oct. 30, 2023, and Anjuara Khatun today. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of the Trade Representative today announced that the U.S. and Mexican governments have successfully resolved a Rapid Response Mechanism petition by a pilots’ union alleging labor rights violations at MAS Air, a Mexico City-based national cargo air carrier.

WASHINGTON – The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement today requested a review from the government of Mexico of the Tecnología Modificada facility in Nuevo Laredo, based on its investigation of a denial of workers’ rights. 

The facility is operated by a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of construction and mining equipment, and other products.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee made the following statement regarding the Oct. 4, 2023, murder of Doris Lisseth Aldana Calderón, a union leader in Guatemala.

“The U.S. Department of Labor condemns the brutal murder of Doris Lisseth Aldana Calderón, a trade union leader at a banana packing facility in Guatemala and member of SITRABI, the Izabal Banana Workers’ Union representing 3,000 workers. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement today triggered a request to the government of Mexico to conduct a review at the Asiaway auto parts plant in San Luis Potosí, based on its findings that a denial of workers’ rights has occurred there.

The U.S. Department of Labor and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee.

WASHINGTON – Deputy Undersecretary of Labor for International Affairs Thea Lee made the following statement today upon the closure of the VU Manufacturas facility in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico:

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor and International Labor Organization today announced the launch of a joint initiative in Leon, Guanajuato, that will support workplace democratic processes in Mexico through the impartial observation of workplace votes and the capacity-building of workers, employers and other key stakeholders on the issues of freedom of association and collective bargaining.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the release of the 22nd edition of the “Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor,” which spotlights child labor abuses globally and reviews progress made by some countries to meet their international commitments to eliminate abuses.

WASHINGTON – The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement today requested the government of Mexico review an allegation that workers’ rights are being denied at the Teklas automotive parts plant in Aguascalientes. The U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Trade Representative co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee.

WASHINGTON – The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement today requested the government of Mexico review an allegation of labor rights’ violations at the MasAir cargo airline in Mexico City. The Department of Labor and Trade Representative co-chair the committee.

WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Trabajo de los Estados Unidos inició hoy una serie de eventos a nivel nacional para conmemorar la Semana de los Derechos Laborales 2023 en la sede del departamento en Washington, uniéndose a funcionarios del gobierno mexicano para destacar la importancia de los derechos de los trabajadores migrantes y de cómo las agencias de cumplimiento del departamento trabajan con los consulados de todo el país para garantizar que se respeten sus derechos y que los violadores sean responsables.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today kicked off a series of nationwide events to mark Labor Rights Week 2023 at the department’s Washington headquarters by joining officials of the Mexican Embassy and other diplomatic missions to highlight the importance of migrant workers’ rights and how the department’s enforcement agencies work with consulates across the nation to ensure these rights are upheld and that violators are held accountable.

WASHINGTON – The departments of Labor, State and Commerce have ­­issued an advisory to alert U.S. businesses and individuals to the growing reputational, legal and economic risks of conducting or considering doing business in South Sudan.