Haitian Free Trade Zone Workers Unionize
julius bergmann | 12.02.2004 18:15 | Globalisation
In the latest attempt to protect the rights of Workers at the Caribbean's newest Free Trade Zone papers have been filied for the regestriation of a trade union.
Port au Prince 11/02/04
Workers at the new Free Trade Zone near Ouanaminthe in Haiti today (10/02/04) filed the registration papers required to legally establish a trade union. They still require Governmental approval, a process that Haitian workers rights organizations fear could be delayed due to the current unrest in parts of the country. The Free Trade Zone employs Haitians at a little over a dollar a day to stitch clothes and textiles for brand name firms including Levis and Dockers. Despite assurances from the factory owner concerns remain not only about the stringency with which international labour standards will be applied, but also how rigorously the Haitian government will enforce the prevailing national legislation. The establishment of a free and functioning trade union is seen by many national and international observers as a critical step in assuring the rights of the workers. The project has also been criticized by development workers because of the enforced purchase and destruction of prime farmland in the Caribbean’s poorest country and environmentalists concerned at the impact of the FTZ on the surrounding ecosystems.
Further information on Haiti and Free Trade Zones:
www.batayouvriye.org/
www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org
Workers at the new Free Trade Zone near Ouanaminthe in Haiti today (10/02/04) filed the registration papers required to legally establish a trade union. They still require Governmental approval, a process that Haitian workers rights organizations fear could be delayed due to the current unrest in parts of the country. The Free Trade Zone employs Haitians at a little over a dollar a day to stitch clothes and textiles for brand name firms including Levis and Dockers. Despite assurances from the factory owner concerns remain not only about the stringency with which international labour standards will be applied, but also how rigorously the Haitian government will enforce the prevailing national legislation. The establishment of a free and functioning trade union is seen by many national and international observers as a critical step in assuring the rights of the workers. The project has also been criticized by development workers because of the enforced purchase and destruction of prime farmland in the Caribbean’s poorest country and environmentalists concerned at the impact of the FTZ on the surrounding ecosystems.
Further information on Haiti and Free Trade Zones:
www.batayouvriye.org/
www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org
julius bergmann