While we were driving to the Agricultural Fair yesterday we passed a small group of protesters that were standing in front of the Sonapi Industrial Complex. They were holding signs and banners for workers' rights. At the end of our visit to the Agricultural Fair we walked out the gates and saw those same protesters peacefully protesting in front of the gates. We heard the spokesman read out a list of points that the protesters want to see addressed. The large banner that people are holding says "Down with expensive living, down with a poor salary".
Yvens and the older guys read the different signs that the protesters were holding.
The guy in the yellow t-shirt is holding a sign saying "We are asking for a minimum wage of 700 gds per day ($17US per day)." The current minimum wage in Haiti for factories is 300gds per day ($7 US per day)The man on the right is holding a sign saying "We ask that the business owner respect the freedom of the unions and the workers in the country".
It was a peaceful protest. The protesters wanted to be seen and heard.
The spokesman for the protesters is reading a list of demands that the group is protesting for.
A view from the back of the crowd towards the gates.
The CIMO police provided crowd control and kept a ready eye out for problems.
The story of what transpired with the protests is below in a news article and video by the Haitian press.:
PEACEFUL MARCH IN FAVOR OF A REFORM OF THE LABOR CODE AND RESPECT FOR LABOR STANDARDS
(Alterpresse) -
Port-au-Prince - Several hundred workers of different categories marched in Port-au-Prince on May 1 at the call of a dozen unions, on the occasion of International Workers' Day (Labour and agriculture in Haiti).
The unions are demanding, among other things, the reform of the Haitian labor code, compliance with labor standards and enforcement of a minimum daily wage of 300 gourdes in the subcontracting factories.
"The unions demand a new labor code, which carries the claims of all workers and agricultural workers in this country," we read on a banner installed on a vehicle accompanying the march.They also asked for authorities to "make good dispositions to assist the farmers and promote the creation of decent work conditions so that people can work in dignity.
Gathered on the outskirts of the local National Society of Industrial Parks (Sonapi), protesters went to the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR).
At Drouillard, agents from the Intervention Corps and Police (Cimo) blocked the march, while the Head of State, Michel Martelly and some officials were at the opening of the MARNDR food fair.For twenty minutes, the march was stopped, until the officials left the scene.
The passage of the presidential motorcade drew hostile slogans shouted out by the protesters.Reaching their destination, the trade unionists, in their closing statement, expressed the frustration of workers, who are brutally exploited and abused, according to them, in the industrial parks.
Among the organizations that took part in the movement includes the Workers' Union of textiles and clothing (Sota Creole acronym), the National Center for Haitian Workers (Cnoh) Workers Struggle (Batay Ouvriye - Bo) Confederation of Haitian Workers Forces (Cfoh), the Autonomous Confederation of Haitian Workers (Cath), the Initiative Group of Struggling Teachers (Giel), the General Centre of Haitian Workers (CGTH) and the Haitian Trade Union Movement (Msh) .The work was supported by the International Trade Union Confederation (CSI) and the Confederation of Workers of the Americas (Csa), whose representatives accompanied the Haitian protesters.
No comments:
Post a Comment