Press Releases

For Immediate Release, September 28, 2006

FACT SHEET - CAFTA-DR Labor and Environment Projects, 2006

The overall U.S. 2005-2006 commitment of nearly $60 million will promote economic growth in the region and help ensure that a broad spectrum of the societies of member countries realize the benefits of free trade.

Support for Labor-related activities
 
• The 2005-funded assistance was designed, through multiple-year programs, to build capacity within the Ministries of Labor to provide for more effective enforcement of labor laws.  Activities are underway from 2005 funds to train labor inspectors, develop new public awareness materials, assess the technological needs of the Ministries of Labor, and provide technical assistance to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the Labor Justice System. 
 
• The labor projects to be funded in 2006 reflect current needs according to priorities originally identified by CAFTA-DR Trade and Labor Ministers in the April, 2005 report, “The Labor Dimension in Central America and the Dominican Republic” and further elaborated during consultations between USG officials and the Ministers and Vice-Ministers of Labor in December 2005, January 2006 and again in April 2006.

2006 Labor Projects

Professionalization of the Labor Inspectorate will support the implementation of professional civil service reforms within the Ministries of Labor, in an effort to improve the recruitment and retention of qualified, experienced professional staff.  The project is designed to strengthen the capacity of inspectorates through the development of career track for civil servants through promulgation of administrative rules and assist in development of a performance management system.  

Benchmarking and Verification projects will be implemented by the ILO to develop benchmarks and assessments to measure and evaluate the progress by CAFTA-DR countries in improving the implementation of national labor laws consistent with internationally recognized labor standards.  The program will evaluate internationally recognized labor rights, including:  the right of association; the right to organize and bargain collectively; the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment; the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor; a prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory labor; and acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health.

Outreach in the Agricultural Sector responds to the need to improve the effective application of labor laws in the agricultural sector.  Recognizing the geographic and specialized area that the agricultural sector represents, this project will work with local rural organizations, and in coordination with Ministries of Labor, to educate workers and employers about the labor laws and concerns most pertinent to the agricultural sector. The project will place particular emphasis on protecting workers and their families from chemical poisoning by training workers and employers in the safe handling of pesticides.

Worker Support Centers will enhance or establish advocates for worker rights who can further assist workers and employers on effective compliance with labor laws.  The project will work with local organizations, and in coordination with Ministries of Labor to provide workers with legal services and information about how to exercise their rights in the workplace and how and when to file complaints properly with the Ministry of Labor.   By helping to ensure that workers are receiving accurate information about the labor laws and procedures, the project will help to increase the efficiency of the complaint handling process within the Ministries of Labor and will allow the Ministries of Labor to reach a greater number of workers.

Administration of Labor Justice projects will strengthen the administration of labor justice, and builds on U.S. Government activities using FY2005 funds to focus on implementing labor court case tracking, case management, and jurisprudence management systems and raising professional standards in the judiciary. A regional labor justice assessment has been completed and a competitive procurement to select a contractor is in process.  Efforts using FY2006 funds will address improvements in conciliation/mediation, procedural reforms, training in the results of those reforms, and work on small claims systems within the court system, with selected court infrastructure improvements related to these initiatives.

Private Labor Standards Projects with a Focus on Gender and Discrimination will expand work in textiles and apparel (which hire a large proportion of female employees) as well as other sectors to reach a broad audience of firms in the CAFTA-DR region to promote understanding of the link between productivity and competitiveness, international labor standards and national labor laws, workplace codes of conduct, and workplace conflict resolution mechanisms, and implement corresponding changes in the workplace.  Discrimination is an important area that the project will cover, but it will also focus on other important actions aimed at promoting adherence to labor standards at the enterprise level.

Promote a Culture of Compliance with Labor Laws projects will address the recommendation in the 2005 White Paper to broaden the understanding of, and commitment to, compliance from all key actors through developing best practices in employer and worker organizations.  The projects will focus on educating workers and employers on exercising their rights under the rule of law, help implement best practices for conflict resolution in the workplace, and develop labor law experts and professional staff within worker organizations.  They will also strengthen industry-level interest in, and capacity to, follow national labor law and international labor standards and, in the process, to improve national economic competitiveness by integrating corporate social responsibility more successfully into the policies and practices of key industries.

Support for Environment-related activities

• Activities with 2005 funds are currently underway to build capacity to improve environmental laws, protected areas, and fisheries enforcement and wildlife management capacity and to strengthen compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).  Funding assistance also went to support the formation of the CAFTA-DR Secretariat for Environmental Matters, which will receive and evaluate citizen complaints on environmental enforcement matters in CAFTA-DR countries.
• The 2006-funded assistance builds on these areas and seeks to address a broad array of priorities set forth in the Environmental Cooperation Agreement (ECA) work plan negotiated among all the CAFTA-DR parties in 2005.  The primary focus of the 2006 funding will be to further enhance the capacities of member states to adopt a more effective and accountable approach in enforcing environmental laws.