Labor Justice

Protection and enforcement of labor rights as well as legal predictability for the workers and the investors are a priority to guarantee compliance with labor laws and improvement of labor standards.  This can be ensured through an increased transparency of the administrative processes, the access to information at the administrative and judicial levels, the streamlining of legal procedures, the systematic use of alternative dispute resolutions methods to allow faster conflict resolutions, the betterment of professional standards in all labor justice sectors, and an improved access to labor justice for workers and discriminated groups.

The USAID Strengthening Labor Justice Program for CAFTA-DR has designed and implemented electronic case management systems in pilot labor courts in three countries (El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala) and is in the process of replicating the pilots nationwide in the specialized labor courts of these three countries; in addition, the program is implementing a new court management model in Costa Rica and in the Dominican Republic.  Jurisprudence systems have been designed and are implemented in the documentation centers of four countries of the region.  All actors of the labor justice world must be equally prepared as professionals to permit compliance with and improvement of labor laws through a cultural change consistent with modern labor standards.  For this reason, the program has designed and is implementing two Master’s in Judicial Studies in Guatemala and El Salvador, is implementing postgraduate labor law programs in five countries, is building judicial laboratories in five countries, and is providing technical assistance to redesign labor law curricula in three countries.  Judicial processes are being streamlined, alternative dispute resolutions methods and oral techniques are being taught to members of the judiciary and to all legal practitioners to allow swifter justice.  To ensure the participation of civil society in the sustainability of the efforts, the program has created virtual labor justice observatories in each country to monitor compliance with labor laws in the administrative and judicial arenas, provide updated information to workers and companies on labor rights, legislation and jurisprudence and disseminate best practices.

The USAID Modernization of Ministries of Labor Program for CAFTA-DR built the capacity of the Ministries to respond to information requirements that support strategic and operational processes and improve services to the labor community.  The program provided technical assistance to develop integrated management systems, including e-government services (submitting labor claims, calculating benefits, etc. on ministries’ websites), information/communications technology (ICT) back office infrastructure, training centers, media production centers, and other initiatives.  The project also procured computer equipment to the ministries to support key systems.

The USAID Citizens’ Access to Labor justice for CAFTA-DR is improving access to labor justice throughout the region by: (1) strengthening the capacities of public defenders and free legal assistance providers; (2) increasing the participation of civil society organizations to promote labor rights, transparency and accountability within the administration of labor justice; (3) building the technical competencies of Ombudsman institutions and civil society organizations to contribute to the elimination of gender-based and other forms of labor discrimination; and (4) increasing the use of Interest-Based Bargaining to resolve collective labor disputes more efficiently and effectively.

With USAID assistance the following goals are being achieved:

• Alternative dispute resolution methods are used to reduce courts backlog and to facilitate a speedier labor justice;
• All specialized labor courts in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras have implemented the management model that provide transparency to the process and allows for efficient management of resources;
• All specialized labor courts in El Salvador and Honduras have implemented the electronic case management system that provides for higher efficiency and transparency of the judicial process through better control;
• 85% of the specialized labor courts in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic will have implemented the court management model that provides transparency to the process and allows for efficient management of resources; 
• The average length of a judicial labor process in the region will be reduced from 18 months to less than 6 months once all the change are implemented;
• At least 30 public defenders institutions and organizations providing free legal aid in the region have been trained in modern aspects of labor law and in oral techniques for trial;
• At least 30 public defenders institutions and organizations providing free legal aid in the region have implemented the electronic case management system that will allow efficiency and transparency in their service to the workers;
• At least 4,000 workers have received free legal support from civil society organizations assisted by the program;
• Ombudsmen staff throughout the region have been trained in labor rights to fight labor discrimination cases related to gender, indigenous populations, workers wit HIV/AIDS, migrant workers;
• Unions, private sector organizations, universities, and academic institutions are trained in interest-based bargaining;
• Multi-sector networks are created to use interest-based bargaining as conflict resolution method;
• Over 500 staff of the ministries of labor have been trained in labor rights for discriminated groups such as workers with HIV/AID;
• Over 30 ICT projects have been successfully implemented within the Ministries of Labor of the region to improve connectivity, transparency and the flow of internal and external information;
• More than 70 civil society organizations have benefited from technical assistance and capacity building in the area of labor justice.