WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded a $7 million cooperative agreement to increase worker protections to reduce child labor, forced labor and other forms of labor exploitation in the chile pepper and tomato sectors operating in the Mexican states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Guerrero and Oaxaca.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and Spain’s Second Vice President and Minister of Labor and Social Economy Yolanda Díaz Pérez met in Washington on July 20, 2022, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that reasserts both countries’ commitment to addressing a wide range of concerns affecting workers and underserved populations. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. government today requested the Mexican government review whether the rights of free association and collective bargaining have been denied to workers at the VU Manufacturing parts facility in Piedras Negras, Coahuila. 

WASHINGTON – The United States and Mexico have announced the successful resolution to a Rapid Response Mechanism petition that alleged workers at the Panasonic Automotive Systems plant in Reynosa, Mexico, were denied freedom of association and collective bargaining rights.

WASHINGTON – The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, which includes the U.S. Department of Labor as a member, today issued the “Strategy to Prevent Importation of Goods Mined, Produced, or Manufactured with Forced Labor in the People’s Republic of China,” as required by the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Trabajo y el Departamento de Estado y la Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional emitieron hoy la “Guía sobre prácticas justas de reclutamiento para trabajadores migrantes temporales,” con principios y directrices sobre la prevención del abuso de trabajadores.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement after the International Labor Organization today recognized occupational safety and health as a Fundamental Principle and Right at Work:

“The U.S. Department of Labor commends the International Labor Organization for recognizing for the first time the right to a safe and healthy working environment in the framework of the ILO’s Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work at the 2022 International Labor Conference.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Departments of Labor and State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development today issued “Guidance on Fair Recruitment Practices for Temporary Migrant Workers,” with principles and guidelines on preventing abuse of prospective workers.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai today announced that the United States has asked Mexico to review whether workers at the Teksid Hierro de México facility in Frontera, State of Coahuila, are being denied the rights of free association and collective bargaining.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $2.5 million grant to Development Alternatives Inc. to improve working conditions in Southeast Asia by countering forced labor and abusive working conditions in fishing.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today issued a Business Advisory on Sudan to highlight the growing reputational risks to American businesses and individuals conducting business with Sudanese state-owned enterprises and military-controlled companies. The departments of the Treasury, State and Commerce collaborated in issuing the advisory.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh will participate in the Group of 7 Labor and Employment Ministers’ Meeting on May 24 in Wolfsburg, Germany. The G-7 is the premier forum for its democratic, industrial member countries to coordinate economic and security policies.

WASHINGTON –The U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will participate in the trans-Atlantic tripartite Trade and Labor Dialogue, which was announced at the U.S.-European Union Trade and Technology Council Ministerial meeting in Paris on May 15-16, 2022. The dialogue will join trade unions, businesses and governments in the U.S. and Europe to discuss trade and labor issues.

WASHINGTON – The Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement today requested that the Mexican government conduct a review at the Panasonic Automotive Systems electronic parts facility in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, in response to a petition filed under the USMCA alleging that plant workers there have been denied the rights of free association and collective bargaining.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee met recently with Malaysia’s Minister of Human Resources Datuk Seri Saravanan Murugan to discuss issues of forced labor, worker voice, and protection of labor rights in the context of bilateral engagement and technical assistance work.

WASHINGTON – On May 11, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee met with Vietnam’s Minister for Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Đào Ngọc Dung to discuss labor issues of mutual interest.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today renewed partnerships with the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to strengthen collaboration with their U.S. embassies and consulates, and to provide information about laws governing workplace safety and health, wages and work hours, and other employment issues individuals from these countries face while working in the U.S.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative met with their Republic of Korea counterparts on April 25, 2022, as members of the Labor Affairs Council established as part of the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement, or KORUS.

MEXICO CITY– During an official visit to Mexico, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie Su today announced new investments by the department to support strengthening workers’ rights, promoting freedom of association, the right to bargain collectively, and the elimination of child and forced labor.

WASHINGTON – In the first visit by a high-level U.S. Department of Labor official to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in nearly 20 years, Deputy Undersecretary of Labor for International Affairs Thea Lee met from Feb. 28 to March 2 with the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi, other high-ranking officials and with union leaders, business executives, members of Parliament and others, to discuss strengthening and enforcing workers’ rights, especially in the minerals sector.