USAIDs Workers Empowerment Program (USAIDs WEP)

The summary for the USAIDs Workers Empowerment Program (USAIDs WEP) grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Agency for International Development, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

USAIDs Workers Empowerment Program (USAIDs WEP): The Workers' Empowerment Program (WEP) will implement two distinct components: Component 1. Improving Representation in the Workplace; and Component 2. Promoting Rights and Interests in Targeted Garment Communities. Under component 1, “the Recipient” will engage worker organizations, including trade unions, worker participation committees, or other voluntary worker associations to strengthen workers’ positions within the garment factories to defend their rights and collectively negotiate with employers. WEP will inform workers of their rights under the Bangladesh Labor Act and international labor standards, and help them understand the advantages and disadvantages of various types of worker organizations. Labor conditions do not end at the factory walls, and activities under Component 2 will address the critical needs of garment workers that are not addressed in the workplace. Many workers leave their families and communities and migrate to areas surrounding garment factories to work. This relocation weakens social support networks that workers, particularly women workers, depend on to survive in difficult circumstances. The problem is compounded by the terrible conditions in communities where workers live. Component 2 of WEP will address these issues by strengthening social networks in worker communities, assisting workers in accessing social services and engaging with local government to provide these services, and empowering women workers to lead Bangladesh’s garment sector to a more prosperous and sustainable future.