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World Safety Congress |
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The World Congress on Safety and Health at Work is an international forum of
professionals who gather every three years to exchange ideas, research, and best
practices on topical issues in the area of Occupational Safety and Health.
The Congress is a five-day event which showcases the latest products and services of
international companies from around the globe. The event will be held from September 18-22, 2005 in
Orlando, Florida. More information is available from the OSHA Web site. |
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The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB)
carries out the international responsibilities of the Department of Labor under
the direction of the Deputy Under Secretary for International Labor Affairs.
ILAB conducts research on and formulates international economic, trade,
immigration, and labor policies in collaboration with other U.S. Government
agencies and provides international technical assistance in support of U.S.
foreign labor policy objectives. ILAB is working together with other U.S.
Government agencies to create a more stable, secure, and prosperous
international economic system in which all workers can achieve greater economic
security, share in the benefits of increased international trade, and have
safer and healthier workplaces where the basic rights of workers and children
are respected and protected.
New & Noteworthy
Participants in the USDOL-sponsored Regional Labor
Rights Training Seminar in Bangkok, Thailand, which
was held on September 20-21, 2004.
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October 18, 2004: USDOL Sponsors Regional Labor
Rights Training Seminars for State Department Employees Posted Around the World
The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) sponsored four regional labor rights training
seminars in September for State Department employees with labor-reporting responsibilities. The
seminars, which were held in Panama City, Istanbul, Bangkok, and Johannesburg, provided
participants with interactive training on internationally-recognized labor standards. Seminar
participants also learned about the structure and mission of ILAB, recent priorities in the
area of labor diplomacy, and effective techniques for carrying out their labor-related
responsibilities abroad. ILAB worked closely with the State Department and Verité, Inc. to
organize the seminars, which included nearly 100 labor reporting officers and foreign service
nationals from U.S. missions all over the world.
Minister of Labor of Namibia speaks at the opening of
the USDOL funded labor law compliance project in
Southern Africa
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October 13, 2004: Inauguration of Labor Law
Compliance Project in Southern Africa
On Oct. 13, 2004, ILAB staff participated in the launching of a $4 million project in Southern
Africa to improve adherence to core labor standards and acceptable conditions of work in
support of the labor provisions of the Free Trade Agreement that is currently being negotiated
by the U.S. and governments of the Southern Africa Customs Union (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia,
South Africa, and Swaziland). The project seeks to strengthen enforcement of national labor
laws, educate employers and workers about their obligations and rights under those laws, and
reduce labor conflict in the region.
September 30, 2004: U.S. Labor Department commits
$18.65 million in FY2004 funds to combat adult and child trafficking
The U.S. Department of Labor awarded grants of $3.75 million to combat trafficking in Brazil,
Cambodia, Moldova, and Sierra Leone, and $14.9 million to address trafficking of children for
exploitative labor in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. "Trafficking
in human beings is an evil that targets mostly women and children, whose suffering can scarcely
be imagine," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "President Bush and this department are
committed to preventing trafficking, protecting victims and prosecuting traffickers. These
projects will help save the lives of men, women and children around the world."
September 30, 2004: U.S. Department of Labor
dedicates $9 million to fight HIV/AIDS through Workplace Based Programs
The U.S. Department of Labor will initiate six new projects aimed at educating workers about
HIV/AIDS and assisting employers to eliminate discrimination against persons living with
HIV/AIDS. The $9 million in funding will support projects in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China,
Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad and Tobago. "In addition to being a serious health issue,
HIV/AIDS is also an economic issue," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "Because
the rate of infection is highest among the working-age population, this disease has a
significant impact on the worldwide labor force." According to the ILO, as many as 28 million
workers worldwide have been lost to HIV/AIDS since the start of the epidemic. "At the current
rate of infection, we will face both an economic and humanitarian crisis as the global
workforce is affected, causing economic growth to slow and increasing poverty around the
world," said Chao.
Polish Minister of State, Barbara Labuda, addresses
the closing conference of the USDOL program in Poland.
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September 6, 2004: USDOL Closes Out Activities in
Poland
After more than a decade of USDOL assistance to Poland, the Department of Labor ended its
project involvement there in a high level ceremony in Krakow, attended by the Polish Minister of
State, Barbara Labuda, U.S. Consul General, Kenneth Fairfax, and USDOL Representative Gary
Russell. USDOL began providing labor market adjustment assistance to Poland soon after the
fall of the Communist government. Poland’s programs for dislocated and unemployed workers are
now considered models of the region, and are helping Poland to adjust to its new membership in
the European Common Market.
DOL official, Gary Russell, speaks during the launch
of the El Salvador Project.
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July 28, 2004: U.S. Department of Labor launches new
project in El Salvador.
In responding to a request for assistance from the Ministers of Labor of Central America, the
U.S. Department of Labor, as part of its Central American wide-project ("Cumple y Gana") to
strengthen the capacity of governments to adhere to international core labor standards and
enforce national labor laws, launched the program in El Salvador in a public ceremony on
July 28, 2004. Participating for the government of El Salvador was Vice-President Ana Vilma de
Escobar and Minister of Labor Jose Roberto Espinal, and for the U.S. government, Ambassador
H. Douglas Barclay, and Gary Russell of ILAB. El Salvador represented the fifth and final
country to initiate its program as part of the "Cumple y Gana" regional project. Country
launches took place earlier in the year in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, all
of which were attended by senior officials of the host government, U.S. embassy and USDOL.
July 27, 2004: Solicitations for Cooperative
Agreement Applications for Child Labor Education Initiative Projects
The Labor Department published a Solicitation for Cooperative Agreement Applications in the
Federal Register (SGA 04-10).
Under its international child labor Education Initiative (EI), ILAB intends
to fund four-year projects to improve access to basic education in areas where there is a high
incidence of child labor. Up to $9.5 million is available for EI projects in Colombia, Guinea,
and Niger. The deadline for submission of applications is August 26, 2004.
July 22-23, 2004: ILAB participation in the Worldwide
Labor Officers’ Conference
Labor officers from all corners of the globe converged on Washington D.C. for the seventh annual
Worldwide Labor Officers’ Conference. Current labor officers and this year’s class of trainees
met at the State Department to learn about current international labor issues and trends that
will shape their duties at post. The topics covered addressed a wide range of issues including
HIV/AIDS in the workplace, the merchant seafarers workforce, the impact of textile quota
elimination, and labor issues in the Iraqi reconstruction efforts (read the
agenda). The
conference incorporated the expertise of various government agencies, institutes, think tanks,
organized labor groups, and business representatives, providing labor officers with a variety
of perspectives. The Department of Labor’s Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs,
Arnold Levine, had the opportunity to address the group on July 23, 2004 (read his
remarks).
Secretary Chao (third from right) and Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis
Ernesto Derbez (third from left) sign a joint declaration on July 21 in
Washington, D.C. Mexican Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Geronimo Gutierrez
(second from left) and Mexican Ambassador to the United States Carlos de Icaza
(far left), Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment Standards Victoria A.
Lipnic (second from right), and Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health John Henshaw (far right) look on. (DOL Photo/Neshan Naltchayan)
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July 21, 2004: Secretary Chao and Mexican Foreign
Secretary Derbez Sign Declaration
Secretary Elaine L. Chao and Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez and their respective
officials signed a Joint Declaration and two Letters of Agreement aimed at improving compliance
with and awareness of workplace laws and regulations protecting Mexican workers in the United
States (read the news release). The
agreements highlight specific efforts that DOL’s Wage and Hour Division and the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration will undertake jointly with the Embassy and
Consulates of Mexico in the United States to promote a better understanding of labor laws and
practices through information sharing, outreach, education, training, and exchange of best
practices. For more information, please read about DOL's programs to help Hispanic workers on
health and safety issues as well as
wage and work hour issues.
July 14, 2004: Request for Information on Efforts by
Certain Countries to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Labor Department published a Federal Register Notice
[Text]
[PDF]
requesting submissions of information from the public on efforts by certain trade beneficiary
countries to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The information is to be used by the
department in preparation of an annual report on these countries' implementation of international
commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. This will be the fourth such report
by the Department of Labor under the Trade and Development Act of 2000 (TDA).
June 21, 2004: The U.S. Department of Labor and The
People’s Republic of China Sign Four Joint Letters of Understanding
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced the signing of four letters of understanding to
broaden cooperation between the United States of America and China in the areas of labor,
employment and workplace safety. Officials from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security of
the People’s Republic of China (MOLSS) and the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) of
the People’s Republic of China (PRC) participated in the signing ceremony. Secretary Chao’s
visit and the four agreements represent the U.S. Department of Labor’s most comprehensive
engagement with China on labor issues ever. For more details, read the
News Release.
June 8, 2004: The Chilean Ministry of Labor and U.S.
DOL Sign Letter of Understanding
Chilean Minister of Labor Ricardo Solari and Ambassador William Brownfield formalized the
technical cooperation exchange between the U.S. and Chile at a signing ceremony in Santiago
(press release in Spanish). The
project supports the labor cooperation mechanism of the free trade agreement between both
countries. The general objective of the project is to achieve greater compliance with Chilean
labor standards through the strengthening of administrative and institutional
capacities. Through partnerships with both employers’ and workers’ groups, the project
endeavors to promote compliance with fundamental workers’ rights, including the mitigation of
workplace discrimination.
May 28, 2004: Notice of Intent to Fund Child Labor
Education Initiative Projects
The Labor Department published a Federal Register
Notice of Intent to provide $5.5 million to organizations to develop and implement formal,
non-formal, and vocational education programs as a means to combat exploitative child labor in
the following countries: Colombia, Guinea, and Niger. Specific solicitations for cooperative
agreement applications are to be published in the Federal Register.
Discussing ways to fight abusive child labor with some
of the U.S. delegates to the Children's World Congress
in Florence, Italy is Arnold Levine, left, Deputy
Under Secretary for International Labor Affairs at the
U.S. Department of Labor.
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May 10-13, 2004: Labor Department Secretary Praises
Children’s World Congress
The Children's World Congress gathered some 500 children and world leaders together May 10-13
in a forum designed to empower children to lead worldwide efforts to end child labor. For more
details, read the News Release.
May 11, 2004: Labor Department Releases Report on
Child Labor in Trade Beneficiary Countries
The Labor Department released the 2003
Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, the Department's third annual report under the
2000 Trade and Development Act. The report presents findings on the worst forms of child labor
in 144 countries and territories that receive U.S. trade benefits.
April 12, 2004: Trinational Occupational Safety and Health Web Site Launched
The U.S., Mexico and Canada formally launched a web site on April 12, 2004 as part of the
Trinational Occupational Safety and Health Working Group. The Web site
(www.naalcosh.org),
which can be navigated in English, Spanish or French, contains links to each government's
occupational safety and health programs and practices; promotes education and public
involvement; and provides for the exchange of information among the three governments on safety
and health matters of mutual interest.
February 4, 2004: Labor Department Releases 13th
ILAB Report on Child Labor
The Labor Department released a Congressionally-mandated
report comparing military and basic
education expenditures by governments in 73 developing countries for each year from
1990-2001. The report also assesses trends since 1989 related to the amount of funding that
the World Bank and other international financial institutions have committed to these
countries to prevent abusive child labor and improve access to basic education.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao visiting the
Terre de Hommes Center for Trafficked Children in Cotonou,
Benin, to announce Department of Labor educational programs to
rehabilitate trafficked children. (Photo/Sean P. Redmond)
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December 20, 2003: Secretary Chao’s Trip to Africa
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao traveled to
West and Central Africa in December 2003 to
highlight efforts to combat the worst forms of child labor, including the use of children as
soldiers and trafficking of children, and to promote programs in the workplace to stop the
spread of HIV/AIDS. During the four-day visit, Secretary Chao stopped in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Benin, and
Ghana to launch several new initiatives
funded by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) and to visit
with beneficiaries of ongoing programs.
December 18, 2003: Child Soldiers Conference
Information
Information concerning the U.S. Department of Labor's
"Children in the Crossfire: Prevention
and Rehabilitation of Child Soldiers" conference on May 7-8, 2003 is now available from this
Web site. Additional information may be requested from our
International Child Labor Program.
October 31, 2003: NAALC Council to Meet for 2003
Annual Session
The three North American Labor Ministers will hold the 2003 annual session of the Council for
the Commission for Labor Cooperation in Washington, DC on November 13, 2003. The Council will
decide the annual work plan and budget for the Commission for Labor Cooperation, review the
Cooperative Activities Plan, and address other outstanding issues under the North American
Agreement on Labor Cooperation. For more information on the functions of the Council, please
see the NAALC Guide, available from
the U.S. NAO's publications and reports page.
August 18, 2003: NAALC Seminar on Linking Job Skills
and Education in North America
A seminar will be held in Mexico City, Mexico on August 21-22, 2003. The seminar is part of the cooperative activities
program of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC). For further information, please contact
Chantenia Gay or Peter Accolla at the U.S. Department of Labor's National Administrative Office: 202-693-4900,
or see the seminar agenda and site information. [HTML]
[PDF]
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Child Labor List of Products |
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| In accordance
with Executive Order 13126 and GSA Federal Acquisition Regulations, ILAB
maintains a list of products that are
believed to have been made using forced or indentured child labor. |
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July 17, 2003: Labor Department Makes Reports Related
to the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements Available Online
The
Trade Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-210) created special procedures for Congressional approval of
trade agreements that make progress in achieving certain objectives and priorities set out in
the Act. The recently signed U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements will be the
first to be approved under this authority. The President submitted the agreements and
implementing legislation to the Congress on July 15, 2003. Pursuant to section 2102(c) of the
Trade Act of 2002, the President is also required to prepare several reports to the Congress
related to these trade agreements. Among these reports are a
United States Employment Impact Review,
Labor Rights Report, and
Laws Governing Exploitative Child Labor Report. The Department of Labor prepared these three
reports for the U.S.-Chile and the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements, and they are now
available online.
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