In January, SOTA-BO textile workers union at H&H Textiles in Carrefour, Haiti were ready to strike to force management to re-hire five women workers & union members who were unjustly fired. To avoid a work stoppage, H&H rehired three of the five workers. At the H&H factory, workers and union members constantly face arbitrary firings,
It’s true, as citizens, we must pay taxes or tariffs. However, we must see where it’s going. In Haiti, DGI is collecting taxes and tariffs but as citizens we never get services. We have to do whatever we can to live without the services the state owes us. There are no roads, no electricity, no
In Haiti, there are virtually no state-provided services. Roads are a mess and basic infrastructure is missing in most places throughout the country. On January 31, 2017, workers of the SOKOWA textile trade union, working in the Codevi Trade Zone in Ounaminthe, went on strike and took the streets protesting a 13% tax on their
Ounaminthe, Haiti – On January 31, 2017, workers of the SOKOWA textile trade union, working in the Codevi Trade Zone, went on strike and took the streets protesting a 13% tax on their wages. Thousands of other workers and other people joined them to march. While a wage tax sounds like a normal practice, this
Last week, SOTA-BO and Haitian garment workers has a small victory in their fight for the right to organize. Five women – known union members and leaders – were arbitrarily fired.* (Click here to read more about this.) Workers are fed up. Every day is a fight to exist. Most work 12-16 hour days. They
