Winrock international, secure: strengthen labor enforcement and compliance to unlock resilient and ethical nickel supply chains purpose

The Department of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs awarded Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development a $4 million cooperative agreement on December 31, 2025, to lead SECURE, a four-year initiative strengthening labor enforcement and compliance in Indonesia's nickel supply chains under the International Labor Programs (CFDA 17.401).

SECURE will enforce prohibitions on forced and child labor at national and provincial levels, advance new labor decrees and frameworks, and expand inspection capacity through advocacy, worker-led monitoring, and stronger linkages between private sector standards, audits, and grievance systems. The project will pilot an independent, multilingual grievance mechanism in target provinces and train paralegal networks, courts, and Komnas HAM to secure worker remedies including repayment of recruitment fees, wages owed, and precedent-setting litigation. Complementary research will combine fieldwork, data analytics, and civil society input to map risks and trace investment flows. Activities will target Central and Southeast Sulawesi, which produce 70 percent of Indonesia's nickel, engaging 20,000 workers and 50 institutions while linking provincial interventions to national reforms.

The award obligates $35 million total, with performance running through June 30, 2030. Work is performed in Indonesia. Winrock brings 40 years of experience in Indonesia and global programs combating child and forced labor across more than 30 countries. TuK Indonesia was awarded a sub-grant on April 2, 2026, to support stakeholder engagement and strategy validation in the project's implementation planning.

Building on 40 years? Experience in indonesia and global programs combating child and forced labor in more than 30 countries, winrock will lead secure, a 4-year, $4 million initiative to strengthen labor governance in nickel supply chains. Secure will address the unfair cost advantages of exploitative practices by advancing policies and systems that align with U.S. Investor expectations and international standards. Targeting central and southeast sulawesi, which produce 70 percent of indonesia?S nickel, the project will engage 20,000 workers and 50 institutions while linking provincial interventions to national reforms and leveraging global investor pressure, industry collaboration, and civil society monitoring to manage compliance and reputational risks. By generating credible evidence and triangulating survey data with reporting, secure will build accountability in a high-risk sector. These reforms will benefit american workers and businesses by leveling the playing field, reducing risks, and ensuring reliable access to ethically sourced critical minerals. Activities to be performed. At national and provincial levels, secure will close legal gaps by enforcing prohibitions on forced and child labor, and advance new decrees and labor frameworks. The project will expand inspection capacity through advocacy, worker-led monitoring, and stronger linkages between private sector standards, audits, and grievance systems to reduce reputational risks. An independent, multilingual grievance mechanism will be piloted in target provinces, while paralegal networks, courts, and komnas HAM are trained to secure remedies?including repayment of recruitment fees, wages owed, and precedent-setting litigation. Complementary research will combine fieldwork, data analytics, and CSO input to map risks, trace investment flows, and strengthen U.S. Supply-chain accountability. Expected outcomes. Secure will strengthen policies and systems in indonesia?S nickel supply chains to reduce forced and child labor and build a more regulated industry that meets U.S. Investor standards. IT will pursue three outcomes: 1) state policies and industry standards strengthened and enforced to ensure labor protections; 2) the capacity and systems for government, industry, and worker institutions to monitor, enforce, and remediate violations expanded; and 3) understanding of the drivers, scale, risk factors of forced labor increased and used to inform policy and industry responses. These outcomes will reinforce labor governance, improve corporate compliance, extend protections to indonesian and chinese workers, and help american workers and businesses by leveling the playing field, reducing risks, and ensuring reliable access to critical minerals?delivered through winrock?S tested approaches in reform, supply chain monitoring, and enforcement training. Intended beneficiaries. The key beneficiaries are the institutions with influence to address labor abuses, workers directly affected in indonesia?S nickel supply chains, and U.S. Industries indirectly exposed to risks. Direct beneficiaries include indonesian and chinese nickel workers, while institutional beneficiaries include the industry, ministry of manpower, ministry of energy and mineral resources, komnas HAM, provincial parliaments, industrial relations courts, worker organizations, and csos. Indirect beneficiaries are american workers and businesses. Subrecipient activities. TUK indonesia, the primary subrecipient, will CO-lead policy advocacy, multi-stakeholder dialogue, and supply chain research while strengthening indonesian actors to monitor and remediate forced labor. Additional subrecipients will be selected upon award and collaborate to deliver research and traceability analytics, labor monitoring and legal remedies, migrant outreach, and griev