Description
The Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, announces the availability of approximately $7 million total costs (subject to the availability of federal funds) for a cooperative agreement to fund a technical assistance project in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The project’s objective is to increase collective action to address child labor, forced labor, and other unacceptable conditions of work in all three countries. The project will utilize an area-based and holistic approach to address violations of labor rights most prevalent in the target areas, including child labor, forced labor, and unacceptable conditions of work. The project will include (1) a focus on people of African descent, Garifuna, and indigenous communities, and (2) actions to promote gender and racial equity. To address child labor, forced labor and other unacceptable conditions of work, the project should accomplish the following outcomes: Outcome 1: Increased resiliency of civil society organizations (CSOs) and workers’ organizations.Outcome 2: Improved enabling environment for CSOs and workers’ organizations. The project will work with (1) CSOs to address labor exploitation, including issues of gender and racial discrimination, and (2) workers’ organizations that represent the collective interests of formal and/or informal workers, and address the needs of vulnerable workers, including women, people of African descent, Garifuna, and indigenous populations. The project will work with national and local authorities, the private sector, people of African descent, Garifuna, and indigenous communities, and other stakeholders. The project will help workers’ organizations and CSOs to address child labor well as other violations of acceptable conditions of work by strengthening their capacities to advance gender and racial equity. The project will support the implementation of the U.S. Central America Strategy and the Biden Administration's Executive Orders on Central America and Racial Equity6, and be in line with the UN Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024). The duration of the project will be a maximum of 4.5 years (54 months) from the effective date of the award.