CUMPLE Y GANA HELPS FUND RENOVATION OF REGIONAL

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 002393

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/PPC PUCCETTI AND DRL/IL MITTELHAUSER
STATE FOR WHA/CEN
STATE PASS USAID FOR LAC/RSD: BARRY MACDONALD
DEPT OF LABOR FOR ILAB: JANE RICHARDS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON ELAB ETRD PGOV HO
SUBJECT: CUMPLE Y GANA HELPS FUND RENOVATION OF REGIONAL
LABOR OFFICE IN CHOLUTECA, HONDURAS

REF: TEGUCIGALPA 02256


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On December 13, 2006 Laboff participated
in the inauguration of the newly renovated regional office of
the Ministry of Labor (MOL) in Choluteca, which was financed
in part by the USG funded Cumple y Gana project. With USD 15
million in total DR-CAFTA related funding, Cumple y Gana has
accomplished a number of items in Honduras both in the rural
sectors and at the MOL in Tegucigalpa. These initiatives
should increase compliance with Honduran labor law in some
areas of the largely underserved rural sectors. It is less
certain, however, whether the MOL can make significant
progress for those Hondurans working for larger companies.
END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) Laboff made remarks in the reopening ceremony at
the regional office of the Ministry of Labor (MOL) in
Choluteca on December 13 about the USD 15 million DR-CAFTA
project, Cumple y Gana, and its role in the renovation of the
office and other accomplishments in Honduras (reftel). Other
speakers included the Minister of Labor, Rixi Moncada, the
Minister of Industry and Commerce, Elizabeth Azcona, the
Spanish Ambassador to Honduras, Agustin Nunez, the Governor
of Choluteca, Cordelia Lagos, and the Regional Director of
the Cumple y Gana Project based in Costa Rica, Rodolfo Piza.
The reconstruction of the building was financed by the
Agencia de Cooperacin Espaola, a Spanish NGO. Cumple y
Gana contributed USD 30K in equipment and furniture and USD
17K for a new vehicle. The renovation is in preparation for
the opening of a new USD 30 million industrial park in
Choluteca. According to the Honduran Director of Cumple y
Gana, Mirta Maradiaga de Bueso, the Labor Minister also
replaced most of the staff and the previous regional director
in Choluteca, whom she believed were corrupt.


3. (U) The U.S. Department of Labor provided Cumple y Gana
with an initial USD 8.75 million in 2004 for seven countries,
including Panama, during the negotiations of DR-CAFTA. The
remaining money, USD 6.5 million for the five DR-CAFTA
countries that have ratified the agreement (excluding Costa
Rica),is a portion of the USD 19 million Department of State
2005-2006 DR-CAFTA funding. Regional offices in Honduras
such as the one in Choluteca are a priority in this second
phase to improve inspections and enhance capabilities in
conflict resolution and provide training, including a new
call center, TV spots, and outreach to the media and women
workers.


4. (U) According to Dr. Piza and Ms. de Bueso, Cumple y Gana
already has made improvements in inspections, conflict
resolution, and training in Honduras. In the inspections
area, the project implemented a case management system,
including the installation of computers, at the MOL in
Tegucigalpa, started a self-evaluation checklist, and trained
inspectors and shop floor managers with an emphasis on the
rural sectors such as fishing, farming and cattle ranching.
Compliance is lowest in the rural sectors for a variety of
reasons, including a highly illiterate, disperse population.
Regarding conflict resolution, Cumple y Gana provided
training for conciliators and outfitted meeting rooms at the
MOL in Tegucigalpa. Cumple y Gana is especially proud of its
comprehensive training website, LeyLaboral.com, including a
section on Honduras, and other supplementary training
initiatives having to do with labor law and DR-CAFTA. These
include the distribution of 10,000 training manuals and
250,000 flyers and 12 daily radio spots in certain regions of
the country, as well as sectoral training for unions and
employers. It even built another website specifically for
the MOL.


5. (SBU) COMMENT: The emphasis on the rural sectors and
regional offices in the second phase of the DR-CAFTA funded
Cumple y Gana project in Honduras undoubtedly will increase
labor rights compliance in the countryside of Honduras, where
compliance is the lowest. Earlier efforts focused on the
larger companies, such as maquilas. One of the
recommendations to the MOL by Ms. de Bueso in May 2006 was to
increase the number of workers who benefit from each
inspection, which was at the time a meager 2.5. The problem
is that inspection quotas are based on the number of
companies inspected, not workers benefiting from them. Both
the Regional and Country Directors told Laboff at the end of
the meeting on December 13 that one of the MOL's priorities
in 2007 in fact will be the maquilas. This might pump up
MOL's numbers, but it fails to focus on those segments of the


economy--such as coffee, melons, and lobster--where the most
egregious labor violations (including child labor) take place.
WILLIARD