Washington, D.C. – This week, the Department of Labor released an assessment of progress under the labor monitoring and action plan that was signed by the United States and Honduras in December. The plan includes detailed commitments by the Government of Honduras to improve labor law enforcement and working conditions, and increase respect for labor rights in Honduras, which in turn will help level the playing field for American workers. The Department of Labor's assessment shows that Honduras is implementing the plan by taking steps to achieve each of the plan’s objectives, including by finalizing a draft legal reform for labor inspections that will overhaul and modernize the inspection system. The draft bill was developed and approved through a government-led process with Honduran employer groups and workers’ organizations, and will be presented to the Honduran legislature in the coming weeks.
The monitoring and action plan is a landmark agreement that was negotiated by the labor ministries of the two countries, in close coordination with USTR, and is a comprehensive commitment by Honduras to bolster labor protections through improvements to its laws and regulatory framework, undertake institutional improvements, intensify targeted enforcement, and improve transparency. The implementation plan aims to strengthen Honduras’ capacity to address concerns regarding labor inspections, access of inspectors to worksites, and illegal dismissals of workers, among others. More information on the United States-Honduras monitoring and action plan and the Labor Department’s assessment is available here.
