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(Information provided by a new report from Christian Peacemaker
Teams (CPT) . The full report is available on the CPT website
at www/prairienet.org./cpt or in hard copy by calling (312) 666/2677)
The assembly sector in Haiti dates back to the early 1970 s, when the Haitian government began to encourage foreign investment. The sector grew rapidly, and by 1982 was he biggest in the Caribbean with 260 factories employing 65,000 workers making baseballs, garments, and light electronics In 1982, the assembly sector went into decline. During the military dictatorship of 1991-1994, the number of workers in the assembly sector dropped to 4000. Since the end of the military period in 1994, the assembly industry has made a modest recovery to about 17,000 workers.
Ten apparel factories produce garments with Walt Disney designs and labels. Before H.H. Cutler pulled out of Haiti, that number stood at 14. At least four U.S. garment manufacturers licensed to produce Disney garments use or have recently used Haitian factories to assemble their products: L.V. Myles Corporation, V.F. Corporation, Waterbury Gannent Corporation, and H.H. Cutler. Warner Brothers Loony Tunes garments are also assembled in Haiti.
Most factories pay their workers on a piece basis, | though they are required by law to pay at least the it minimum wage of 36 gourdes per day, equivalent to t $2.17 U.S. Workers in some factories do not earn the minimum wage if they do not reach their production quota, in clear violation of the Haitian labor code.
The factory workers told CPT delegation members that $2.17 is, in any case, not enough money to live on. When asked what would be a fair wage, workers generally replied that $4.50 would be acceptable. At least one factory owner told the visitors that the minimum wage could be doubled without affecting the competitiveness of the factory.
The report tells of the firing of all the workers at a BVF Apparel
Manufacturing factory and the factory's move to a different location,
and also describes the firing of 150 workers at L.V. Myles Her
workers spoke with a Disney monitoring delegation which visited
the factory. The Haitian constitution guarantees the right to
organise. In 1991, prior to the coup, there were many unions.
During the coup, however, a number of factories closed down, while
many union leaders were searched out and killed. Now many workers
are afraid to organise.
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