Haiti
Haiti, garment workers, worker rights, Solidarity CenterIn Haiti’s export apparel industry, the Solidarity Center joins with unions to educate workers about their rights under national and international labor laws. Credit: Olton dorvelus
In Haiti, the Solidarity Center provides training and mentoring support for union organizing and advocacy campaigns, and assists workers in building sustainable, democratic and inclusive unions. Finding decent work in Haiti is a fundamental challenge. Most workers are engaged in informal economy jobs, and weak labor protections leave workers vulnerable to severe exploitation, such as low wages and inappropriate working conditions, such as sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence. Solidarity Center studies repeatedly have demonstrated the daily minimum wage is far less than the estimated cost of living in Haiti. More than 6 million of Haiti’s population of 10.4 million (59 percent) lives below the national poverty line of $2.41 per day, and more than 2.5 million (24 percent) fall below the national extreme poverty line ($1.23 per day). In Haiti’s export apparel industry—composed primarily of women and the largest source of formal economy jobs in Haiti—the Solidarity Center joins with unions to educate workers about their rights under national and international labor laws. The Solidarity Center also works with unions to mobilize workers to build and balance power, advocate for wage increases and improved labor laws, and connect with global allies to leverage support for fair labor standards and labor law compliance.

Media Contact

Kate Conradt
Communications Director
(+1) 202-974 -8369

 

Women Leaders at Forefront of Key Worker Rights Struggles

Solidarity Center News
Solidarity Center News
Women Leaders at Forefront of Key Worker Rights Struggles
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Haiti: Workers Demonstrating For Higher Wages Met with Police Violence

Violence broke out on Wednesday, February 23, as Haitian police opened fire on garment workers demonstrating for higher wages and killed a reporter, according to witness reports. Two other reporters were injured at the scene in Port-au-Prince. Maxihen Lazzare, who...

Haiti: Factory Workers Stage Peaceful Rally to Demand Higher Wages

Following Haitian unions’ open letter to the prime minister demanding an increase in the minimum wage, factory workers in the nation’s capital staged a peaceful protest outside the SONAPI industrial park in Port-au-Prince on February 9 and 10.  Videos and photos...
Haitian Unions Demand Minimum Wage Increase

Haitian Unions Demand Minimum Wage Increase

Haiti remains in the midst of multiple crises as the country grapples with the question of who will lead the nation in the aftermath of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Most recently, the dramatic rise in the cost of living has led workers to demand an...

Haiti Garment Workers Negotiate Landmark Health Payment

Haiti Garment Workers Negotiate Landmark Health Payment

Garment workers and their union in Haiti are hailing a landmark settlement with a factory in Port-au-Prince that provided a total of $15,480 in back pay to 1,200 workers. The compensation covers 20 percent of the amount the employer deducted from workers’ paychecks...

US-Haiti Trade Pact Renewal Must Address Worker Rights

US-Haiti Trade Pact Renewal Must Address Worker Rights

As the U.S. Congress considers renewal of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBPTA) for Haiti, labor rights provisions must be enforced for trade benefits to reach 57,000 Haiti garment workers, says Solidarity Center Americas Regional Program Director Lauren...

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