$1M available from US Labor Department to fund a project
to improve compliance with labor laws in the Philippines

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced a $1 million competitive solicitation for a project to assist the government of the Philippines with improving compliance with labor laws and regulations, including those related to occupational safety and health.

"Protecting workers' rights — and in particular their safety and health — requires strong compliance systems and inspection mechanisms," said Carol Pier, deputy undersecretary of labor for international affairs. "This project will provide rigorous training to increase the effectiveness of inspections and compliance with domestic labor laws in the Philippines."

The project will focus on making labor inspections conducted by labor law compliance officers more effective, particularly in the area of occupational safety and health, and increasing workers, employers and their representatives' capacity to monitor violations of labor rights and conduct joint assessments with labor law compliance officers.

To achieve the project's goal, the successful grantee will:

• train labor inspectors on how to:
• collect and analyze data;
• conduct effective, targeted investigations;
• perform effective joint assessments;
• apply and collect fines; and
• perform outreach to workers and employers;
• work with the government to develop protocols, policies and processes to support targeted inspections;
• train workers, employers and their representatives on:
• applicable labor laws,
• how to conduct joint assessments, and
• how to play an effective role in monitoring labor rights violations and working conditions in the Philippines; and
• assist the government in conducting a campaign to increase public awareness of labor laws.

Any commercial, international, educational or nonprofit organization(s), including any faith-based, community-based or public international organization capable of successfully implementing the activities outlined in the solicitation is eligible to apply.

Applications must be submitted in English by Monday, Nov. 10, at 4 p.m. EDT electronically via http://www.grants.gov or in hard copy to the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Grants Management, Attention: Donna Kelly, Grant Officer, Reference SCA-14-26, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Room N-4716, Washington, DC 20210.

The award will be made by Dec. 31. The funding opportunity announcement (SCA-14-26) is available online at http://www.grants.gov and http://www.dol.gov/ilab/grants/.