(2014-04) Haitian Labor Movement Struggles as Workers Face Increased Anti-Union Persecution and Wage Suppression

Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) • 2014 • 8 pages

Summary — BAI and IJDH report documenting anti-union terminations in Haiti's apparel industry and public sector, widespread minimum-wage violations for piece-rate garment workers, and government complicity in worker exploitation, with recommendations.

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Key Findings

At least 36 apparel workers across seven factories were terminated in retaliation for the December 2013 SONAPI wage protests, and all five executive committee members of the EDH utility union were fired after a press conference alleging corruption, with one officer seriously injured by security guards. Investigations by Better Work Haiti and the Workers Rights Consortium found all 24 of Haiti's apparel factories underpaying piece-rate workers, with only 16 percent earning the 300 gourdes daily minimum required by the 2009 law. Workers demanded 500 gourdes per day while a Solidarity Center analysis put a living wage at 1,152 gourdes per day. The apparel sector accounted for 91 percent of national export earnings and 9 percent of GDP in 2012, and the report recommends reinstatement, back pay and stronger enforcement.

Full Description

This April 2014 report by the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) and IJDH describes persecution of union activists, wage suppression and worker exploitation in Haiti's public sector and apparel industry four years after the 2010 earthquake. It documents at least 36 terminations across seven factories in retaliation for December 2013 protests at the SONAPI industrial zone demanding a 500 gourdes daily wage, the firing of the entire executive committee of the EDH electricity utility union after a press conference on alleged corruption, and a history of anti-union dismissals at One World Apparel. Citing Better Work Haiti and Workers Rights Consortium investigations, it reports that all 24 of Haiti's apparel factories failed to set piece rates allowing workers to earn the 300 gourdes daily minimum under the 2009 law, with only 16 percent of piece-rate workers reaching that level. The report describes government complicity through the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor and an exclusionary justice system, and issues eight recommendations on reinstatement, back pay, fair hearings, legal aid and compliance monitoring by the United States and investors.

Topics

Geography

Time Coverage

2009 — 2014-04

Keywords

labor rights, unions, apparel industry, minimum wage, SONAPI, EDH, wage suppression, Better Work Haiti, HOPE II, Caracol, worker exploitation, anti-union persecution

Entities

Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), SECEdH, EDH, SOTA, One World Apparel, Charles Baker, Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MAST), Better Work Haiti, Workers Rights Consortium, ILO, IFC, S & H Global, Caracol Industrial Park, USAID, Clinton Foundation, Michel Martelly, Josue Merielien, UNNOH, Solidarity Center AFL-CIO

Notes

BAI and IJDH labor rights report, English original April 2014 (catalog title in French); ayitistats wave B