The solidarity center (SC) proposes a two-year, $2 million project entitled enhancing transparency and accountability in uzbekistan's cotton industry to develop bottom-up strategies that empower…

The Solidarity Center (SC) was awarded a $4 million cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs under the International Labor Programs (CFDA 17.401) to implement a two-year project in Uzbekistan. The project aims to address forced labor and other labor rights violations in Uzbekistan's cotton industry by empowering workers' and employers' organizations to independently develop and implement solutions at the ground level.

Key deliverables include increasing cotton sector workers' knowledge of their rights and capacity for collective action, while also helping employers understand international labor standards and compliance expectations. The SC will work with $250,000 sub-awardee the Center for International Private Enterprise to provide expert assistance to cluster operators and nascent worker leaders on skills development, collective action, and best practices for securing labor rights. Both organizations will also create spaces for stakeholder dialogue, analysis, and developing recommendations to improve adherence to international standards and protections in Uzbekistan's cotton supply chains.

The solidarity center (SC) proposes a two-year, $2 million project entitled enhancing transparency and accountability in uzbekistan's cotton industry to develop bottom-up strategies that empower workers' and employers' organizations to implement solutions independently of the state that improve working conditions at the ground level in uzbekistan's cotton production sector. The objective of the project is to address forced labor and other labor rights violations in the cotton cluster production system in uzbekistan. Activities performed 1) strengthened worker voice in uzbekistan's cotton cluster supply chains; 2) increased compliance with international labor standards by businesses in uzbekistan's cotton cluster supply chains; 3) increased dialogue among stakeholders to promote the adoption of transparent market and governance norms and worker-driven systems of accountability in uzbekistan's cotton cluster supply chains. Deliverables as a result of project interventions: - workers in the cotton sector will increase knowledge about the rights they have, increase their capacity to take collective action to protect their rights and access newly created mechanisms at the worksite level to help them set and enforce labor conditions in line with international standards and localized needs. - employers in the cotton sector will increase their knowledge about labor rights and international compliance standards expected by high-end brands, develop new compliance standards for uzbek cotton producers in a collaborative process with key stakeholders, and commit to piloting those improved standards to demonstrate cotton can be verifiably produced according to international best practices in uzbekistan. - other key stakeholders, particularly relevant government officials and global brands, will participate in dialogue platforms that allow for open discussion about expectations and progress in terms of sectoral development, identify reform priorities, and incentivize expansion of reform initiatives to widen demand for change. Intended beneficiary workers in the uzbek cotton sector and their employers - owners and operators of cotton clusters subrecipient activities NA