Over the past year, MSN has been working with coalitions of women’s and trade union organizations in El Salvador and Honduras on the right of working parents in the maquila sector to access quality affordable childcare for.
As part of that effort, MSN has been facilitating dialogue on the issue between the local organizations and international brands that are part of the multi-stakeholder Americas Group and whose products are made in one or both countries.
In El Salvador, the Coalition for Decent Work for Women (CEDM) has completed a needs assessment that included interviews with 600 workers, as well as management personnel, in six garment factories and two focus group discussions with 41 workers outside the workplace.
The findings of CEDM’s research, as well as a series of recommendations, were presented at an August 29-30 dialogue session involving CEDM member organizations, 6 international brands, 10 factories, the Fair Labor Association (FLA), and MSN.
In Honduras, MSN collaborated with the Honduran Independent Monitoring Team (EMIH) and the Honduran Maquila Union Network (RSM-H) on a legal analysis of the obligations of employers and the state to provide workplace childcare for maquila and other workers.
MSN recently created a webpage on the Right to Child Care, which includes studies and resource materials on the issue, including the Honduran legal analysis in Spanish and English and Spanish summaries. MSN is currently working with CEDM on a final report on its needs assessment, which will also be posted soon.