21159: Esser: Deceit in Free Trade Zones (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

No Sweat
http://www.nosweat.org.uk

April 07, 2004

HAITI - DECEIT IN FREE TRADE ZONES
 From Batay Ouvriye in Haiti:

The bicentenary of Haiti's independence was marked by extreme tension
culminating in President Aristide's departure. Today the situation is
far from stable. The conditions of the former president's hasty
departure and the ambiguity of some members of his opposition are
cause for concern. Everything has to be rebuilt in this country
devastated by the policies of the Lavalas Party and its leader. In a
country with no revenue, no administration and no power structure,
civil society is nevertheless trying to ensure that a few basic
democratic rules are applied. For those who take advantage of the
country's weaknesses for their own profits, business carries on as
usual despite the crisis. Organizations like Batay Ouvriyé are
confronted with huge problems in their struggle for the recognition
of workers' and peasant's rights, including the right to organize.

Joseph Egains is 27 years old. He used to be a teacher in the little
town of Ouanaminthe, in north-eastern Haiti, near the Dominican
Republic border. Since August 2003, however, Joseph has been making
Levi's 505 and 555 jeans in the Codevi factory that Grupo M, the
Dominican Republic's biggest textile company, recently set up in this
new free trade area. Material for the jeans arrives from the capital
of the Dominican Republic capital to be assembled in Ouanaminthe. The
clothing is then returned to the capital for the finishing touches
before being sent to the USA. In the Haitian factory 300 workers
produce 8,000 items per week for a weekly wage of 16 euros. This is
equivalent to twice the minimum wage in Haiti but barely 40% of the
Dominican wage. Grupo M plans to triple the surface of its production
site and the number of workers employed on it in the next few months.

A highly questionable view of development

It was a longstanding wish of former President Aristide and his
Dominican counterpart to set up a free trade zone. As soon as the
project was officially announced in April 2002 it was fiercely
opposed by peasants on the fertile Mariboux plain, the site chosen
for the zone. Their efforts to refuse expropriation of their land
were supported by all environmental protection organizations and many
other NGOs in both countries concerned. From the outset Batay Ouvriyé
(see below) participated in this mobilization. What was the point of
setting up an industrial site in a fertile area in a country with
serious food supply problems? Why chase peasants from their land if
they are left with no alternative but rural exodus? Why worsen the
island's deforestation and threaten the region's ecological balance?
The answer to these questions lies in the Ouanaminthe's geographic
situation, two hours from the Dominican Republic's capital and 90
minutes from Haiti's second largest town. Joseph Villardouin, the
peasant leader at the head of the protest movement, had ample time to
contemplate this sad reality during his imprisonment from May to
September 2003. Bulldozers cleared the land in March 2003, removing
maize and peas that were to be harvested shortly afterwards.

Commitments not met

 From the outset Grupo M seemed to be the main beneficiary of the
operation. The Dominican Republic's main employer is known for the
harness of its social policy. Several investigations in its factories
have revealed serious violations of labour legislation and
ill-treatment of workers. Trade unions and people's organizations led
by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, relayed in
Europe by the Haiti Support Group, have mobilized to obtain
guarantees from the company.

On 9 October 2003 the World Bank, which financed the Ouanaminthe
factory with a $20m loan, announced that its participation was
subject to the group's compliance with labour standards, starting
with workers' rights to organize in independent unions. An agreement
on this was signed between the World Bank and the textile company.

On 13 October 2003 Batay Ouvriyé wrote to Mr Capellan, Chairman of
the Board of Grupo M. The union announced the creation of a branch in
the Ouanaminthe factory and requested a meeting to discuss the terms
of a company convention. They received no reply.

On 16 February 2004, as the Haitian crisis reached a turning point
that led to President Aristide's departure, Batay Ouvriyé undertook
the required steps at the Labour Ministry to register its presence in
the Ouanaminthe factory. The new branch of the union also sent a
letter to the manager of the site, Mr Limbert Cruz, who gave a
favourable reply concerning the principle of such a meeting.

The 'rebel' army intervenes

However, on 25 February there was a change of tone. Union leader
Ariel Jérome was summoned by his supervisors, hit with the butt of a
gun by company security guards, and forced to hand in his entry
badge. The next day the union launched a protest strike and demanded
that its leader be allowed to return to work. Limbert Cruz cancelled
the worker's dismissal, promised to have him examined by a doctor,
and promised an inquiry into the beating for which two security
guards were responsible. On 1 March the situation switched once again
when the factory management informed workers of layoffs due to breach
of contract by the contractor, Levi's.

On 2 March members of Batay Ouvriyé demonstrated again against the 37
dismissals that happened to concern union members. This time it was
the militia of the 'rebel army' from the north that intervened
directly to suppress the gathering, at the company's request.
Questioned by US organizations alerted by Batay Ouvriyé, the Levi's
group denied any breach of contract. It pointed out its code of
conduct and denied any involvement in the conflict.

On 5 and 8 March an attempt at conciliation was made at the Grupo M.
head office in the Dominican capital. The group's directors tried in
vain to persuade World Bank representatives that it was the union
that had provoked the violence. On 8 March a long absence from the
negotiating table was intended to show their contempt for this type
of discussion. Batay Ouvriyé representatives and their lawyer pointed
out just how much stronger this contempt towards workers was on the
factory floor where no witnesses were present. They appealed to all
solidarity movements supporting them to intervene, to ensure that
Grupo M would meet its commitments to its sponsors and so that real
negotiations could finally take place.

MORE INFORMATION :

Levi's code of conduct

This leading textile brand points to its code of conduct to convince
its opponents of its good faith in affairs in which its
sub-contractors are accused, for instance in Mexico recently (Call n°
268) and currently in Haiti.

The quality of Levi's products is the same, irrespective of the place
in which they are produced. The multinational has the means to
persuade its suppliers to show as much concern for the quality of
labour conditions as for that of the work carried out in its
factories. It still has to show how it intends to ensure that the
clauses of its famous code of conduct are to be enforced.

Batay Ouvriyé

is a Haitian organization that supports the creation of unions in
free trade areas (Call n°178 and 194), local industries (Call n°262)
and plantations (Call n°210, 228 and 242). It also supports small
farmers in rural areas. Relations between the solidarity network of
Peuples Solidaires and Batay Ouvriyé are regular and have involved
extensive interaction and many visits between the leaders of the two
movements. Find out more at Batay Ouvriye:
http://www.nosweat.org.uk/www.batayouvriye.org

and Haïti Support Group:
http://www.nosweat.org.uk/www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org

LETTER :

Señor Fernando CAPELLÁN
Presidente Grupo M, S.A.
Parque Industrial Caribeño
Santiago
REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA

Señor presidente,

Me informó Réseau Solidarité (10 quai Richemont 35000 Rennes -
FRANCE) de la represión llevada a cabo en contra de los obreros de su
nueva fábrica de Ouanaminthe (Haiti).

Le ruego tajantemente cumpla con los compromisos que usted ha
contraido acerca del Banco mundial (Corporación internacional de
finanzas del Banco mundial) para financiar esta inversión.

De inmediato, le exijo :

- que ponga fin a las brutalidades y demás atropellos en contra de
los sindicalistas en su empresa.
- que queden disueltos los servicios de seguridad armada dentro de la
fábrica.
- que se le brinde asistencia médica al sindicalista Jérôme Arriel
- que se emprendan verdaderas negociaciones con el sindicato Batay
Ouvriye.

Atentamente

Translation:

Dear Sir,

I have been informed by Réseau-Solidarité (10 quai de Richemont,
35000 Rennes, France) of repression against workers at your new plant
in Ouanaminthe, Haiti, and wish to remind you of the importance of
meeting the commitments you made to the World Bank which financed
this undertaking.

I therefore demand:

- an end to brutality and anti-union practices in your company
- the dissolution of armed security services within your company
- adequate medical treatment for trade unionist Jérome Arriel, and
- real negotiations with the union Batay Ouvriyé.

Yours faithfully,

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