Wikileaks and Haiti

[bcholmes]

The U.S. Embassy in Haiti worked closely with factory owners contracted by Levi's, Hanes, and Fruit of the Loom to aggressively block a paltry minimum wage increase for Haitian assembly zone workers, the lowest paid in the hemisphere, according to secret State Department cables.

The factory owners refused to pay 62 cents an hour, or $5 per eighthour day, as a measure unanimously passed by the Haitian parliament in June 2009 would have mandated. Behind the scenes, the factory owners had the vigorous backing of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Embassy, show secret U.S. Embassy cables provided to Haïti Liberté by the transparency-advocacy group WikiLeaks.

The minimum daily wage had been 70 gourdes or $1.75 a day.

The factory owners told the Haitian parliament that they were willing to give workers a mere 9 cents an hour pay increase to 31 cents an hour - 100 gourdes daily - to make T-shirts, bras and underwear for U.S. clothing giants like Dockers and Nautica.

To resolve the impasse between the factory owners and parliament, the State Department urged then Haitian President René Préval to intervene.

"A more visible and active engagement by Préval may be critical to resolving the issue of the minimum wage and its protest 'spin-off' -- or risk the political environment spiraling out of control," warned U.S. Ambassador Janet Sanderson in a June 10, 2009 cable to Washington.

Two months later, Préval negotiated a deal with Parliament to create a two-tiered minimum wage increase - one for the textile industry at $3.13 (125 gourdes) per day and one for all other industrial and commercial sectors at $5 (200 gourdes) per day.

Still, the U.S. Embassy was not pleased. Deputy Chief of Mission David E. Lindwall said the $5 a day minimum "did not take economic reality into account" but was a populist measure aimed at appealing to "the unemployed and underpaid masses."

— "Second blockbuster round of WikiLeaks Haiti releases--on minimum wage battle, exclusion elections ", Haiti Liberte (as quoted on the CHAN website)

Heaven forbid that the elected government appeal to the masses.

It's important to note that neither 70 nor 125 gourdes ("goud" in kreyòl) per day are a livable wage. To pay rent, afford transportation, buy food, and send kids to school you need a wage in the neighbourhood of 225 goud per day (this was a number cited to me during my most recent delegation). Less than that, and you're sacrificing food, rent or education.

Because about half of the country makes less than a dollar a day (~40 goud), people will take 70 goud/day jobs. The documentary, Poto Mitan has a collection of interviews with garment workers in Haiti -- their comments are pretty telling.

Comments

[aquaeri]

a populist measure aimed at appealing to "the unemployed and underpaid masses."

And heaven forbid it matters to a country that its masses aren't underpaid.