July 20, 2021

US Department of Labor announces $10M funding opportunity to support efforts to enhance resolution of labor disputes in Mexico

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of $10 million in grant funding to improve the resolution of labor disputes in Mexico. The project seeks to increase the effectiveness of conciliation mechanisms to resolve labor disputes in support of Mexico’s 2019 landmark labor reform.

July 16, 2021

US Department of Labor announces $3M funding opportunity to strengthen enforcement of labor standards in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of $3 million in grant funding to support progress on labor standards, including occupational safety and health, hours of work and wages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

July 13, 2021

US Department of Labor, other federal departments issue Business Advisory for Xinjiang, China

WASHINGTON, DC In collaboration with the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. Department of Labor today issued an updated Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory.

July 9, 2021

US, Mexico announce enforcement of worker protection agreement

WASHINGTON, DC On Thursday, July 8, the U.S. and Mexico announced a comprehensive plan to ensure that international labor standards are being enforced at the General Motors’ facility in Silao, Mexico. This effort represents the first step of remediation under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Through this type of enforcement, American workers are protected from unfair trade practices and are able to compete and succeed in the manufacturing sector.

June 29, 2021

US Department of Labor, Office of the US Trade Representative convene inaugural meeting of US-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Labor Council

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative met with their counterparts in the Mexican and Canadian governments June 29 for the first meeting of the Labor Council as established under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

June 24, 2021

US Department of Labor adds polysilicon from China to ‘List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor’

WASHINGTON, DC – Every two years, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs publishes its “List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor” that the bureau has reason to believe are produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of international standards, as directed by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 and subsequent reauthorizations.

June 10, 2021

US Department of Labor presents 2021 Iqbal Masih Award to Norma Flores López, International Labour Organization

WASHINGTON, DC  U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh announced the joint winners of the 2021 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor during a virtual ceremony.

February 25, 2021

US Department of Labor awards $5M grant to reduce child labor in Ethiopia’s coffee fields using a gender-focused approach

WASHINGTON, DC A young Ethiopian girl dreamt of finishing school to become a health worker in her village. She was 13 when her father died, forcing her to leave school and enter the fields to pick coffee to help her family. During long days of work, she harvests, washes and sorts coffee cherries – exposed to sharp objects, pesticides and other hazardous chemicals – with her health and her future at risk.

February 9, 2021

US Department of Labor awards $8M to support enhanced tracing of goods made with child, forced labor and other exploitive practices in three countries

WASHINGTON, DC Detecting child labor and forced labor in complex supply chains can be a daunting challenge. Fragmented and dispersed global-sourcing operations sometimes makes supply chains opaque, and research shows the risk of exploitative labor practices increases greatly in activities such as extraction of raw material and agricultural work, as they support other industries.

February 9, 2021

US Department of Labor awards $8M in grants to engage cocoa cooperatives to combat child labor in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana

WASHINGTON, DC – Under a hot sun, a child wields a machete at work in the fields, forced to inhale pesticides sprayed by adults eager to maintain their cocoa crop. Sadly, it is a reality for too many children, particularly those at work in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana’s cocoa industries.

February 9, 2021

US Department of Labor awards $4.5M in grants to reduce child labor in Madagascar’s mica-producing communities

WASHINGTON, DC – A boy toils long hours lugging mica from deep underground mines to the surface above and then sorts and processes the mineral. With no protection from razor sharp tools, the child’s work exposes him fully to the mica and sand dust kicked up in the mining and sorting processes. At the end of the supply chain, the mined and processed mica finds its way into the manufacture of many consumer products such as automobiles, cosmetics and electronics.

January 15, 2021

CORRECTED: U.S. Department of Labor to Award $10 Million Grant to Address Labor Violations in Illegal, Unregulated and Unregistered Fishing

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor today announced its intent to award up to $10,058,000 million in grant funding to address labor violations in illegal, unregulated and unregistered fishing in the Latin American and Caribbean regions.

January 15, 2021

CORRECTED: U.S. Department of Labor to Award $11.7 Million Grant to Enhance Labor Compliance in Key Export Sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor today announced its intent to award up to $11,711,500  million in grant funding for a regional project to enhance labor compliance in key export sectors in the Republic of Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and one other African trade partner country.

January 15, 2021

U.S. Department of Labor to Award $8 Million Grant to Address Labor Violations in Illegal, Unregulated and Unregistered Fishing

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor today announced its intent to award up to $8 million in grant funding to address labor violations in illegal, unregulated and unregistered fishing in the Latin American and Caribbean regions.

January 15, 2021

U.S. Department of Labor to Award $10 Million Grant to Enhance Labor Compliance in Key Export Sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor today announced its intent to award up to $10 million in grant funding for a regional project to enhance labor compliance in key export sectors in the Republic of Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and one other African trade partner country.

January 12, 2021

U.S. Department of Labor Awards $2 Million Grant To Improve Enforcement of Labor Laws in Armenia

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $2 million cooperative agreement to the International Labor Organization to implement a project to improve the government’s enforcement and promotion of labor laws and standards that are consistent with international labor standards, in one or more specific economic sectors in Armenia.

January 12, 2021

U.S. Department Of Labor Announces Award of $3 Million Grant To Improve Compliance with International Labor Standards in Kenya

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $3 million cooperative agreement to the International Labor Organization to implement a project to improve compliance with international labor standards and acceptable conditions of work in the Republic of Kenya. 

The project will engage civil society organizations, including workers’ organizations, government, and employers to achieve these improvements in two key export sectors.

January 12, 2021

U.S. Department of Labor Awards $5 Million Grant To Advance Labor Compliance in Colombia’s Port Sector

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $5 million cooperative agreement to Partners of the Americas to implement a project to improve compliance with labor laws in the port sector of Colombia.

January 4, 2021

U.S. Department of Labor to Award $4 Million Grant to Improve Worker Rights in Rural Sectors of the Indo-Pacific with a Focus on Women’s Rights

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced its intent to award up to $4 million in grant funding to the International Labor Organization (ILO) to improve worker rights in rural sectors of the Indo-Pacific with a focus on women’s rights.

December 16, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Announces $20 Million in New Grants to Support USMCA Implementation, Bringing the 2020 Total to Nearly $50 Million

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced two new grants, totaling $20 million, that will assist Mexico in meeting its labor obligations under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The grants announced today bring the total committed for this purpose by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) to nearly $50 million in 2020.