Rapid Response Network

Category: Haiti

  • May Day 2026 in Haiti

    May Day 2026 in Haiti

    Since April 13, 2026, Batay Ouvriye affiliated unions have been taking to the streets across Haiti in Port Au Prince, Ounaminthe, and Caracol. The mobilizations are a response to the government hike in fuel prices which have doubled transportation costs, while garment workers’ wages have not been adjusted for cost of living increases, as mandated by the labor code, in four years. 

    RRN members are fundraising to support them. You can donate here.

    The minimum wage in garment assembly factories is 685 gourdes/day (~ $5.23 USD). Gasoline now costs 850 gourdes/gallon (~ $6.50 USD).

    Yannick Etienne, a representative of Batay Ouvriye, shared that workers who commute from Carrefour (just south of Port Au Prince) to the SONAPI Industrial Park in the capital spend 600 gourdes per day on their commute alone. With a daily wage of 685 gourdes, they are left with 85 gourdes to pay rent, buy food, and send their children to school. It’s impossible. Workers are rightfully outraged. 

    Here are their demands:

    1. For the government to reverse its decision to increase fuel prices;
    2. For the government to issue a decree setting the minimum wage at 3,000 gourdes without increasing production tariffs, and to adopt accompanying social measures such as subsidies for transportation, social housing, and schools for workers’ children;
    3. For the government to finalize the decision previously taken by the Minister of Commerce together with the Minister of Finance to suspend a series of taxes and duties for workers in the textile sector.
    4. We call upon the Haitian government to take urgent actions to address the worsening security crisis. The government must resolve the insecurity that armed gangs are spreading in various areas of the country. These measures are essential to restore peace, protect communities, and ensure that workers and citizens can live and work without fear. We urge the authorities to act decisively to dismantle gang networks and guarantee safety across the nation. The programmed insecurity must stop immediately.


    Etienne shared that the most sustained mobilization is happening in Port Au Prince led by workers from the SONAPI Industrial Park. Debilitated by gang violence, the park that once employed 60,000 workers now employs around 2,000, mostly women.

    “These women are not messing around. They are determined to force the government to address their demands.”

    When the sound truck arrives outside SONAPI around 6am, the women quickly go inside to punch in, then walk out. Etienne said they often have to force their way out of the factory as managers try to lock them in.

    Women workers sing and celebrate. They pushed their way out of the factories to join the protest outside SONAPI Industrial Park.

    On May 1st, the workers will mobilize again for their demands, and in recognition of International Workers Day.

    Some Florida members of the RRN have organized a fundraiser to support their efforts, alongside a screening of the short documentary, Batay La (The Struggle). Please consider making a donation.

    DONATE

    If you’d like to watch the film, but can’t make it to south Florida, you can watch Batay La here. 

    Happy May Day. Thank you for your solidarity. Batay l’ap kontinye. (The struggle continues).

  • Haitian Workers Shutdown Factories

    Haitian Workers Shutdown Factories

    October 2025

    Insecurity continues in Haiti. On February 7, 2026 the current transitional government’s term ends. This temporary administration aimed to hold elections before this end date, but this is unlikely.

    There are two departments (similar to states in the US) in Haiti that hold the most votes – The West and Artibonite. These are also the areas most plagued by gang violence with homes being burned alongside regular shootings, and the rape of women.

    “On 30 September, the UN Security Council authorized a new multinational Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti to replace the Kenyan-led security support mission, amid escalating gang violence, widespread rights abuses and a humanitarian emergency affecting all aspects of life in the island nation” (United Nations). The Haitian transitional leadership hopes this new military group will be able to suppress the gangs to allow for elections, but they have yet to arrive in the country.

    Meanwhile, anger and frustration are high, particularly among workers as gang violence and overall instability blocks them from working while they struggle to stay alive. On September 25, 2025, in Port Au Prince, garment workers and members of the Batya Ouvriye affiliated union, SOTA-BO, held a sit-in, in front of the Prime Minister’s office and the Council of Presidential Transition (CPT), demanding increased wages. Mobilizing like this is a greater risk in the capital city as this is the apex of gang activity, showing how desperate these workers are for change.

    In October 2025, in Ouanaminthe at the CODEVI Free Trade Zone, workers shut down the industrial park. At their meeting with government officials, workers warned officials that they need to come with ways to increase, not decrease production. Further, they put forward that this production should benefit the Haiti and its people, rather than being purely extractive, as is the current arrangement.

    HOPE/HELP?

    On September 30, 2025, the day before the longest US government shutdown in histtory, the Hope and Help Acts expired. These laws allow textiles produced in Haiti to enter the US and Canada mostly tariff-free.

    Production in Haitian industrial parks has decreased drastically as gangs terrorize neighborhoods, control roads, highways and ports, making factory production increasingly difficult for workers’ safety and manufacturers’ operations.

    Apparel accounted for over 90% of U.S. merchandise imports from Haiti. The apparel sector also provided over 60,000 jobs in Haiti in 2021, though this number declined to nearly 22,000 by 2024 due to political instability and security concerns.

    A representative of Batay Ouvriye told the RRN that as of October 2025, CODEVI Free Trade Zone is the biggest operation right now with 20,000 workers. At SONAPI industrial park in Port Au Prince there are less than 5,000 workers right. At Caracol Industrial Park in Cap Haitien there are about 2,000 workers.

    In a country as dominated by imperialism as Haiti, brands and manufacturers want everything – land, infrastructure, workforce, and they want it cheapest, but ideally free. If they don’t get their way, they pack up and leave. When you add gang violence to the loss of duty-free imports to the US, global brands are even more likely to leave the country. The current global economy is arranged to facilitate corporations’ ability to globe-hop to wherever labor is cheapest, regulation is non-existent, and taxes and tariffs are minimal. Companies extract, exploit, and put nothing back into the country and people where goods are made.

    In this tense situation, Haitian manufacturers, on behalf of global brands produced in the country continue to try to squeeze workers for additional profit, and the trade unions affiliated with the workers movement Batay Ouvriye have hit a boiling point.

    BO vs. CODEVI

     CODEVI Free Trade Zone is located in Ounaminthe, a city in the northwest region of Haiti, bordering the Dominican Republic. CODEVI a Haitian company, owned and managed by Dominican company, Grupo M.  The industrial park mostly produces textiles. Here’s a list of the brands produced at CODEVI:

    Old Navy, Fruit of the Loom, Levi’s, GAP, Dockers, Liz Claiborne, Polo, Hanes, Calvin Klein, Columbia Sportswear, Levi Strauss, Lucky Brand Jeans, Nordstrom, Dillard’s

    Since 1994, Batay Ouvriye (Workers Struggle) has been building a nation-wide workers’ movement. They organize textile workers and informal workers (street vendors) in the cities and peasants and agricultural workers in the rural areas of Haiti.

    Inside CODEVI there are several BO-affiliated unions including:

    • SOKOWA-BO
    • SEDOC-BO
    • SOTECO-BO
    • SYNTRAC

    Shutdown of CODEVI

    Article 107 of the Haitian Labor Code says if a worker works 48 hours per week, or six days per week, they should get paid for a rest day on Sunday. Management at CODEVI has not complied with this article for years. The BO unions pressured them to comply. CODEVI agreed to begin applying Article 107 on October 6, 2025.

    However, they also said that they would now begin taking 20% tax from workers’ paychecks. These are taxes the employer is responsible for paying to the government towards a fund that pays workers for extra hours and for the paid holiday during the month of December.

    Prior to this round of negotiations around Article 107, CODEVI was paying these taxes. But when the workers asked for the paid rest day that is legally owed to them, CODEVI tried to shift the cost of these taxes onto the workers.

    In response, on October 6, 2025, the workers of CODEVI, led by BO unions, walked out of their respective factories, shutting down production. The same occurred the following day.

    On October 8, 2025, workers met with government officials including the Minister of Finance, Minister of Labor, and Minister of Economy & Industry. These officials agreed to temporarily pause collection of the taxes, protecting CODEVI, and pushing workers to resume their jobs in the factories.  But, the workers said no based on being disregarded in the negotiation process. The workers were included in this meeting, but their items were not included in the formal meeting agenda. So workers shut down CODEVI again with walkouts and work stoppage.

    Monday, October 13, 2025, CODEVI requested a temporary suspension of operations for one month from the Ministry of Labor from October 13th through November 7th, meaning workers would be out of work this entire time.

    Two days later on October 15th, CODEVI reneged on this suspension of operations. Instead, they put out a letter telling workers to get back to work. The government put out a statement saying it will withdraw both taxes, but no word about the minimum wage.

    Workers’ Demands

    • No more taxes
    • Publish a new minimum wage adjustment
      • Article 107 of the Haitian Labor Code also states that whenever there is a 10% increase in inflation, the government is supposed to adjust the minimum wage. They have not adjusted the wage since April, 2022. The inflation rate is currently around 40%.
      • Workers are demanding 2,500 gourdes/day (about $19 USD/day)
    • Social Benefits
      • There is a loan from the world bank the Haitian government can use to address social needs. This program will be over in 2026. Workers receive about 1500 gourdes from this fund at the beginning of each school year for back to school costs. This has been occurring for two years. Workers want a similar program to continue
      • Housing – affordable units with rent to own programs
      • Education costs – books, tuition, etc.
      • Transportation – subsidized for workers to commute to and from home and the factory
      • Subsidized meals and basic food goods in the industrial parks
    • Increase Production for Haiti & Haitians
      • At their meeting with government officials, union organizers pressed officials for increased production that benefits the country and its people with economic and social investment in Haiti and Haitians.
         
  • Haiti Update + Call to Organize

    Haiti Update + Call to Organize

    March 14, 2022

    • As Haitian garment workers continue to fight for their rights, we in the US can learn from their example of independent organization.
    • What follows is an update on the recent strikes in Haiti for increased wages, and a call to build independent organization here in the US.

    UPDATE

    In the last days of February 2022, Haitian garment workers were brutally repressed for taking the streets to demand an increased minimum wage of 1,500 Gourdes per day ($14.81 USD). On February 23rd, one reporter was shot and killed, with two others shot and several injured. You can read more about that update here.

    Learn more about the historical context of Haitian garment workers’ continued fight for wages.

    In the days that followed this atrocity, workers continued their mobilization effort. On Thursday, February 24th, workers gathered in their usual location outside the Sonapi Industrial Park on Airport Road in Port Au Prince. As they waited for their sound truck to arrive, police opened fire on the assembled workers and their supporters, forcing them to disperse. Angered and undeterred, the workers gathered again outside the park the following day, Friday, February 25th. This time, they were attacked inside the industrial park with teargas when they attempted to gather more workers to join them. In response workers took the streets outside the park, burning tires and blocking the road.

    These days of mobilization were in response to the government’s insulting wage adjustment of 685 gourdes per day ($6.50 USD), far from the workers’ demand of 1,500 gourdes ($14.81 USD). In their announcement on February 21st, the government also said they would offer lunch and transportation subsidies for workers. (Transportation to and from work costs about 200 gourdes per day.) But, no details or timeline about how or when these programs would be implemented.

    "For 1,500 Gourdes without increased quotas!"
    “For 1,500 Gourdes without increased quotas!”

    The government also stayed quiet on the issue of production wages. In addition to the legal minimum wage set by the state, factory owners set a production wage based on a quota system. If workers reach their quota, they receive an additional wage above the minimum wage, sort of like a bonus… except even with this “bonus” their wages do not meet the costs of living. While this production wage is set by the private manufacturers, the government is supposed to also put forward a fair and legal suggestion of what this wage should be based on costs of living, inflation, etc. The government’s silence on this issue allows factory owners to continue their normal practice of setting quotas impossibly high, so that they never have to increase workers’ pay.

    Additionally, workers who participated in the strike and mobilization continue to be illegally fired and harassed at work. If the unions are not present to push back, union workers become eliminated and blacklisted from work in the industrial parks.

    Given this context, SOTA-BO in coalition with four other unions is shifting gears from the streets to dealing with firings, fighting factory owners on the production wage, and pressuring the government to follow through on their mention of subsidies. The unions told the prime minister, Ariel Henry, that he has until May to come up with a formal plan and to start implementing the promised meal and transportation subsidies.

    img_70541

    CALL TO ORGANIZE!

    While this situation is extreme in its brutality and clear-cut exploitation, the struggle of Haitian garment workers is universal… and most often, universally obscured. For example, in the constant and widespread coverage of the war in Ukraine, no attention has been paid to how this war affects Ukranian miners who have been in a battle to address their unlivable wages and incredibly dangerous working conditions.

    As our feeds are flooded with news of monumental wars, climate crises, racism and xenophobia, one fundamental reality remains the same – the need for food and goods that are produced and distributed by workers and laborers who are always being compelled to work more for less. And, just as the workers in Haiti and Ukraine are fighting back, so are laborers and workers across the US. People are refusing low wages, forming new unions, and striking at factories and plants across the country.

    At the same time, we are in a moment where the interests of profit have saturated every social and political issue, including labor. SEIU tried to block Puerto Rican teachers from doing what’s best for their interests. The AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center has collaborated with the US government to wage war on dominated countries and to limit the demands of workers in countries outside the US. If we want to shift to organizing for what’s best for workers, children, communities and the planet, then we need organizations that remain independent from profit motives.

    This is why the RRN supports SOTA-BO and the other organizations affiliated with the Haitian workers movement Batay Ouvriye (BO). Different from many of the unions in the US and other imperialist countries, Batay Ouvriye has maintained its independence from political parties, nonprofits and union bureaucracies that try to cap the demands and struggles of workers. Without these constraints there is the possibility for laborers and workers to coordinate their efforts, to lend solidarity based on their common interests as the people who actually make society possible.

    The RRN encourages all efforts towards organization, better wages and working conditions. The network actively supports those who are organizing independently with rank and file workers leading decisions about their struggles and interests. And, we want to support more independent efforts! 

    • If you have been thinking about getting organized in your workplace and you want to talk about what it means and looks like to do that independently, then get in touch!
    • If you’re already organized and dealing with union bureaucracy and limitations, let’s talk about that too!
    • Are you angry, frustrated and want to talk more about what it means to organize? Get in touch.

    RRN is not an organization, but as a network we will work to put you in touch with folks already organizing independently.

    Let’s get organized! Let’s build international solidarity!

    RRNsolidarity@gmail.com
    Facebook
    Twitter

    Batay l’ap kontinye/The Struggle Continues

    Solidarity Forever!