News Release
US Department of Labor awards more than $12M to combat child labor, forced labor in Mexico, promote migrant worker rights
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.
The funding includes $4.4 million to Verite, Inc. to increase locally-led actions that address child labor and forced labor in the municipalities of Chiapas and San Luis Potosí. Verite aims for its project to increase capacity and collaboration among stakeholders—municipal government, the private sector, workers and civil society—to coordinate, design and implement initiatives to combat these labor issues.
The department also awarded $5 million to the Pan American Development Foundation to address child labor, forced labor and other labor violations and to promote the rights of workers in the domestic work sector in Mexico City and Queretaro. The project will provide a range of services to promote labor rights for domestic workers, including leadership development, skills training, and access to legal and social services for children and adults.
Additionally, the department awarded $3 million to the International Labor Organization to advance protections for migrants’ labor rights and support civil society efforts on behalf of migrant workers. Grant activities will strengthen civil society’s capacity to protect migrant workers, particularly Mexican nationals participating in U.S. temporary foreign worker programs. It will support fair recruitment initiatives and improve civil society and migrant worker awareness of labor rights.
The new funding aligns with U.S. obligations in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the goals of Mexico’s 2019 labor reform.
