The Senderos project aims to support the agricultural workers and the public and private sectors to improve adherence to international standards on labor rights in the sugar cane and tobacco sector.
About the Project
Verité, in collaboration with IMPAQ International, World Vision, and Fundación Mexicana de Apoyo Infantil, introduces Senderos (Sowing Rights, Harvesting Better Futures), a four-year project with the purpose of promoting compliance with national legislation and improving adherence to international standards on child labor, forced labor, occupational health and safety, as well as other labor conditions, in the sugarcane and tobacco industry in Jalisco and Nayarit.
Senderos will achieve this by combining three key strategies:
#1
Greater government capacity to enforce labor legislation in agricultural supply chains
#2
Strengthening the capacity of the private sector to improve compliance with labor legislation in the sugarcane and tobacco industry in Jalisco and Nayarit
#3
Improving access to information and resources on labor issues for all farmworkers
Senderos implements comprehensive trainings on labor rights and resources issues, working in close coordination with the Mexican government, the private sector, and farmworkers in order to create a new approach to enforcing labor rights.
RESOURCES FOR WORKERS (In Spanish)
The Project Context
Join Us
The Senderos project is intended to provide free technical assistance to the private and public sectors and to agricultural workers to improve the enforcement of international standards on child labor, forced labor, occupational health and safety, as well as other labor conditions, in the sugarcane and tobacco industry in Jalisco and Nayarit.
We are a group of dedicated organizations with experience and successful models that help overcome the challenges faced by the Mexican countryside. Our purpose is to improve the yield and competitiveness of two key crops for the country’s economic growth.
Learn more about Senderos below.
Federal, State, and Municipal Government
The work carried out by the Senderos team is based on the implementation plan under the Mexican government’s Labor Reform, incorporating the professionalization of labor justice, as well as the management and digitalization of court cases.
Senderos works closely with the Mexican Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare (Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social) to increase the capacity of public servants to follow up on labor violations and strengthen inspections using new technologies.
Similarly, at the state and municipal levels, Senderos supports key stakeholders in the public sector to strengthen capacities that contribute to the improvement of labor conditions in the sugarcane and tobacco industry in Jalisco and Nayarit.
Tobacco and sugarcane producers, mills, and organizations
Senderos works to strengthen the sugarcane and tobacco industry. We support the industry in order to help them overcome the main challenges faced within supply chains based on the new international demands that exist in the industry.
Senderos works with sugarcane and tobacco producers, mills, and organizations to carry out actions regarding due diligence, training, and access to complaint mechanisms.
The work model is based on three key points:
- Improving due diligence. We develop maps of needs and locate labor problems in the supply chain. We provide assistance for creating tools such as processes, protocols, and procedures.
- Training is designed and implemented for the personnel responsible for due diligence throughout the supply chain. These trainings are complemented with themes related to good labor practices regarding health, occupational safety, child labor, among others.
- Monitoring and remediation. The project provides technical assistance to those responsible for monitoring labor conditions in the sugarcane and tobacco supply chains, as well as providing counsel for the implementation of remediation actions for labor problems when they are identified.
Senderos works shoulder to shoulder with all the actors involved in the sector, adapting methodologies and providing support to the needs of producers, sugar mills, and sugarcane and tobacco associations.
Senderos can be considered an ally that assists all parties free of charge, using a collaborative model that has proven successful results in other parts of the country or abroad.
Agricultural workers
Senderos works alongside agricultural workers and unions of laborers in the sugarcane and tobacco industry in Jalisco and Nayarit, with the purpose of educating and raising awareness about labor rights, child labor, forced labor, health, occupational safety, and other working conditions.
Senderos will carry out training and outreach campaigns so that day laborers learn about their labor rights and how to exercise them.
Similarly, Senderos’ collaborative model allows for the creation of two-way communication channels to improve dialogue and cooperation among all stakeholders involved in improving the working conditions of agricultural workers.
Blog and Events
Voices from the field: Senderos project participants describe everyday hazards and risks in sugarcane fields
In Mexico, sugarcane production and processing is comprised of a complex web of actors. Alongside sugar refineries, mills and farmers, the supply chain is made up of less visible actors, such as cabos or crew leaders and field leaders, who largely operate informally. The least visible and most vulnerable actors in the sugar cane supply chain are the sugarcane cutters, who are exposed to many labor risks, including severe risks to their health and safety.
Contact Us
Funding is provided by the United States Department of Labor under cooperative agreement number IL‐34209-19-75-K. 100% of the total costs of the project is financed with USG federal funds, for a total of eight million dollars. This material does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the United States Government.
