U.S. Department of Labor announced a $3 million cooperative agreement project with Impactt Limited to assist the Dominican Republic sugar industry.
The funds will help increase the capacity of field workers and their families to advocate and organize for better living and working conditions, according to a Dec. 28 U.S. Department of Labor news release.
"Administered by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, this project will help sugarcane field workers and their families, who often work and live in isolated areas, learn about their rights and public resources available to them," the news release reported.
According to the release, the Bureau of International Labor Affairs released its seventh report on the Dominican Republic sugar industry in September, which detailed continuing concerns about the "egregious working conditions and labor rights' abuses."
The Bureau of International Labor Affairs is managing the new project, the release reported. To help field workers improve their living and working conditions, it will collaborate with unions in the sugar industry, government agencies and sugar firms.
In addition, the project will deal with obstacles that impede Dominican sugar industry workers from exercising their legal rights, according to the release. The project is a component of the department's Multilateral Partnership for Organizing, Worker Empowerment and Rights, an initiative to support worker rights and empowerment through program and policy interventions to strengthen workplace democracy globally.
