Deadline: 28-Mar-23
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces an open competition for organizations interested in promoting internationally recognized labor standards for workers in mining, manufacturing, and/or construction in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Human rights abuses are alleged in the mining, manufacturing, and construction sectors across Sub-Saharan Africa. Concerns about these often foreign-owned and operated industries include lack of transparency and disclosure of impact assessments and due diligence processes, land rights violations, loss of livelihoods, health threats, and labor rights abuses.
Labor rights violations are reported regularly in these industries with poor working conditions stemming from non-compliance with, and challenges enforcing, laws and standards for occupational safety and health, working time, wages and contracts, and employee benefits. Abuses against workers in these industries include unsafe work environments; unfair dismissal; nonpayment, underpayment, and delayed payment of wages; discrimination; lack of fair hiring processes; and restrictions on unionization.
Funding Information
- Total Funding Ceiling: $900,000
- Period of Performance: 24-36 months
- Anticipated Time to Award, Pending Availability of Funds: 6 months.
Outcomes
- Proposed projects should be designed to achieve the following outcomes:
- Workers apply their understanding of labor rights, including for health and safety at work, to increase membership in independent trade unions and worker organizations, and advance labor dialogue with employers in the mining, manufacturing, and/or construction sectors.
- Workers and labor rights advocates effectively utilize systematically documented labor rights violations in their claims for justice and accountability for labor abuses.
- Labor rights advocates link with collaborative advocacy coalitions, such as environmental, health, and/or land rights groups, for greater collective power that amplifies calls to action.
- Workers, independent worker organizations, and allied activists and groups denounce labor rights violations and conduct evidence-based advocacy for workers’ rights at the national, transnational, regional or international levels to hold governments and/or employers accountable to laws and commitments.
Eligibility Criteria
- DRL welcomes applications from U.S.-based and foreign-based non-profit organizations/nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and public international organizations; private, public, or state institutions of higher education; and for-profit organizations or businesses. DRL’s preference is to work with non-profit entities; however, there may be some occasions when a for-profit entity is best suited.
- Applications submitted by for-profit entities may be subject to additional review following the panel selection process. Additionally, the Department of State prohibits profit to for-profit or commercial organizations under its assistance awards. Profit is defined as any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs. The allowability of costs incurred by commercial organizations is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) at 48 CFR 30, Cost Accounting Standards Administration, and 48 CFR 31 Contract Cost Principles and Procedures.
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