WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced a $2.5 million competitive grant solicitation to fund improvements in the enforcement and monitoring of fire and building safety standards to better protect workers in the ready-made garment sector of Bangladesh.

WASHINGTON — Senior officials of the U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative today issued a joint statement with their counterparts from the Government of Colombia following the first meeting of the Labor Affairs Council under the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced a $9 million competitive grant solicitation for one or more projects to reduce child labor in the artisanal mining sector of Colombia.

Thousands of children work in Colombia's mining sector, where they labor alongside adults and are exposed to physical injuries, dangerous tools, hazardous substances, toxic gases and explosions. Many people are not aware that children face these hazards.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs will award up to $5 million under a competitive grant solicitation for one or more cooperative agreements to address child labor and exploitative working conditions in Rwanda's tea sector. The project will have an area-based approach that targets children, families and workers who are susceptible to child labor.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs is seeking eligible applicants for a $10 million cooperative agreement on a project to address child labor, labor rights and working conditions in the Dominican Republic's agricultural sector, including in sugarcane and production supply chains.

WASHINGTON — Acting Secretary of Labor Seth D. Harris and acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis today announced that the United States has requested consultations with the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain under the Labor Chapter of the United States — Bahrain Free Trade Agreement. The request follows a December 2012 report by the U.S. Department of Labor that highlighted labor issues stemming from the Government of Bahrain's response to civil unrest in early 2011 in Bahrain and recommended actions to address those issues.

WASHINGTON — Acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis and acting Secretary of Labor Seth D. Harris today announced that the United States and Guatemala have agreed on a robust enforcement plan to resolve concerns raised in a labor case brought by the United States under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement. The 18-point plan includes concrete actions with specific time frames that Guatemala will implement within six months to improve labor law enforcement.

WASHINGTON — Senior officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Trade Representative today issued a joint statement with their counterparts from the Republic of Korea following the first meeting of the Labor Affairs Council under the 2012 U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.

WASHINGTON — Carol Pier, acting deputy undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs, today announced that George Achibra of Ghana has won the department's 2012 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor. U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Gene A. Cretz presented the award to Achibra at a ceremony in Accra.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced a $1.5 million grant award to strengthen labor rights in Colombia. The grant awarded by U.S Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs will fund a project implemented by the Escuela Nacional Sindical.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced a $2.2 million grant award to strengthen worker organizations in Haiti and Peru. The grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs will fund projects implemented by the American Center for International Labor Solidarity, also known as the Solidarity Center.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs awarded a $5 million cooperative agreement to the International Labor Organization for a project to support efforts to reduce child domestic work by building the capacity of domestic worker organizations and promoting decent work for domestic workers in four provinces of Indonesia.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of two new cooperative agreements to support efforts by the governments of Ecuador and Panama to combat child labor among vulnerable groups. Both projects include a focus on children from Afro-descendant, indigenous and migrant populations.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today released a report on Bahrain's compliance with its labor commitments under the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement. The report concludes that, while the government of Bahrain has instituted important mechanisms to address issues stemming from the 2011 unrest in Bahrain, it appears to have acted inconsistently with the Labor Chapter of the FTA in its response to that unrest.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced a $5.35 million grant to support efforts by the governments of Brazil and Peru to combat forced labor, including forced child labor. The grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs will fund a project implemented by the International Labor Organization.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today awarded $10 million for a cooperative agreement with the International Rescue Committee to combat child labor in Tanzania. The project will target regions where there is a prevalence of child labor in agriculture and domestic service.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs has awarded a $5 million cooperative agreement to Counterpart International to combat child labor in Burkina Faso. The project will target child labor in cotton production and gold mining, focusing on the northern area of the Haute Bassins, the Boucle de Mouhoun and the northern and central-northern Cascades.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today introduced Reducing Child Labor and Forced Labor: A Toolkit for Responsible Businesses, the first guide developed by the U.S. government to help businesses combat child labor and forced labor in their global supply chains.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced a $6 million cooperative agreement award to Winrock International for a project to combat child labor in geographic areas of Liberia that produce rubber.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced a $10 million cooperative agreement to World Vision for a project to combat child labor in Cambodia's agriculture, fishing, fisheries, aquaculture and domestic service sectors.