JUSTICE FOR GARMENT WORKERS IN HAITI

On January 11, 2010 the NPR News Hour ran this story (click on the link) describing a new hope for economic development of Haiti's garment industry.  Political and social violence had been quelled, governmental stability was returning, and closed factories were opening and retooling for a new beginning.  The Haitian garment industry was at the pinnacle of this hope and a major attraction for new investment from the US and other countries.  Haiti had expectations of large-scale investment for its economy as well as for just wages and working conditions for its garment workers.  It had the attention and leadership of US ex-President, Bill Clinton.  As the Prime Minister said, Haiti was ready to move from misery to poverty.  Better conditions were just around the corner.  What could go wrong?

On January 12, the very next day after this optimistic report was aired, the earthquake hit.  It was as if the nation's whole economy had a stroke.  Jobs and the promise of jobs died in an instant.  Haitians had no money to put into the broken economic system.  The emergency distribution of relief further damaged the broken system for delivering food, goods and services.

Now, four years later, what has happened to the hopes and promises for development of a thriving and fair garment industry in that country?

As 2013 came to a close, a spate of reports on the conditions of Haiti's garment industry made for grim reading.  Multiple watchdog agencies reported on illegal conditions -- wage theft, sexual harassment,  and poor safety and sanitation standards that violated not only Haiti's laws but also the promises of manufacturing companies supplying big retailers in the US and other countries where Haiti-made apparel is sold.  Brands like Gap, Gildan, Hanes, Kohl’s, Levi’s, Russell, Target, VF, and Walmart are buyers of garments from Haiti and they are well-aware of this law-breaking.  Yet they continue with business as usual, profiting from the lower prices that they can obtain from factories that abuse and cheat Haiti's workers of legally owed wages.

One of the situations described with particular dismay is the new garment factory built after the earthquake in a new $224 million industrial park in Caracol, at place located in the northern part of Haiti far away from Port au Prince.  This venture was controversial from the beginning because it took productive farming land away from subsistence farmers to put up a huge factory in a place with no social or civic structure to provide for health, safety, security or education for thousands of workers transplanted there.  The industrial park was heralded as the centerpiece of US earthquake recovery efforts brought about under the leadership of President Bill Clinton.  It turns out to be a leading practitioner of wage cheating and it fell short of other promises, such as the numbers to be employed and living conditions to be provided for workers.

The usual battalions of corporate public relations suits all responded promptly to the barrage of damning reports and corrections have been promised.  (See the Fruit of the Loom statement below.) Indeed, the most promising thing for improvement of Haitian garment workers is the perseverance of those watchdog agencies who will surely keep the glare of public attention on the Haitian garment industry and its assurances.  The fight for better working conditions and fair wages is very incremental and requires both persistence and resilience.  Justice will not come like a bolt of lightening; it will take years.

Refusing to buy clothing made by exploited Haitian workers is not a solution that helps the workers.  Haiti, after all, is not the only country whose garment workers are exploited for bigger profits and a few boycotts will not help poor Haitians.  For most of them, being exploited at work is better than no job at all when there are malnourished children to feed, no other legal means of employment and 70% unemployment.

I will not presume to advise fellow consumers on how to behave.  But we consumers do at least need to be aware of the unjust and broken system of which we are a critical part.  We must support honest watchdog agencies in the role they play.  We must encourage corporate giants to reduce their inhumanity, support government policies that protect the weak and wage-dependent from predatory business practices.  We must consume with mindfulness of the role foreign factory workers have in the garment industry when we make purchases.  We must humbly recognize ourselves as both part of the problem and part of the solution in this matter.

Notes:

    1.  Thanks to Diana Woodbridge for inspiring the research for this entry.

    2.  Workers Rights Consortium, Stealing From The Poor: Wage Theft In The Haitian Apparel Industry.  [WRC is a group representing nearly 200 universities that monitors factories making college logo apparel.]

   3.  Better Work Haiti, Garment Industry 7th Biannual Report Under The Hope II Legislation.
[Better Work Haiti is an innovative partnership of the International Labour Organization and the International Finance Corporation that aims to improve working conditions and promote competitiveness in global supply chains.  The US Congress passed the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE and HOPE II) Acts, which allowed for duty-free treatment for textiles, apparel and other goods from Haiti to the US.  Better Work Haiti provides technical assistance for compliance by both the government of Haiti and the US with the provisions of the legislation, including protection of workers' rights to fair wages and safe, clean working conditions.]

   4.  Statement of Fruit of the Loom in response to reports that its suppliers in Haiti were violating the rights of Haitian garment workers.

We are greatly concerned about the recent report from the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC) regarding the issue of minimum wage compliance in the Haitian garment industry.  It is our view that the clear intent of Haiti's minimum wage law is for production rates to be set in such a manner as to allow workers to earn at least 300 gourdes ($7.07 USD) for 8 hours of work in a day.  Based on our independent investigation, we concur with the WRC that the garment industry in Haiti generally falls short of that standard.

Fruit of the Loom’s Code of Conduct requires, at minimum, strict compliance with applicable laws. With respect to the Haiti minimum wage regulations, we are committed to ensuring that our Haitian suppliers come into compliance with the law of Haiti. For purposes of measuring wage compliance, we will utilize the standard that has been employed by the ILO/IFC Better Work Haiti program. We plan to engage with the WRC and other relevant stakeholders, including worker representatives in Haiti, to address this issue. We recognize that remedies for past violations will be a topic of this discussion.
For further information, please contact Stan Blankenship, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility, at 270-781-6400.

--kjl