Textile Workers Mobilize in Haiti for Minimum Wage Adjustment — Press Conference
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Greetings to all our media friends, print as well as television, that come to provide coverage for the conference that PLASIT, which is Textile Plants Union Platform, to launch the mobilization for the minimum wage adjustment for the year 2015-2016. In PLASIT, we notice that 8 months following the beginning of the fiscal year, the Supreme Salary Council finally made recommendations to the government just as it did for the past 2 years. Thus, the Council has adopted a bad habit of not respecting what is stated in Article 4.1 in the Law of 2009 on the minimum wage.
In the Supreme Salary Council, it’s mainly delaying tactics and plots going on. Management and the two so-called union representatives in the Council are dragging their feet so that management may continue to steal several months of workers’ wages. So, management will have more leeway to continue to pay workers measly wages. The 8-month delay is in the interest of management while prices of all basic items are going up and the Social Affairs Ministry does not urge them to respect Article 137 of the Labor Code stipulating that when the inflation rates increases more than 10%, workers’ wages must be adjusted. Today, the inflation rate has reached more than 14.5%. Therefore, the plot against the interests of workers has been consolidated.
We learn that the Council, after 8 months of delaying tactics, proposed a minimum wage of reference of 300 gourdes ($4.76) and the minimum wage for production to be 400 gourdes ($6.35) a day for the textile sector. It’s clear the 300/400gourdes will not solve our problems, especially with the increase in the cost of living, and our purchasing power is plummeting and the value of the gourdes is decreasing in relation to the dollar. For us, at the very least, the minimum wage should be500 gourdes ($7.94) to 1,000 gourdes ($15.87). However, management and their stool-pigeons in the state who get their orders from foreign donors say this will make Haiti non-competitive with other countries. We are denouncing these plot-laden arguments on the backs of workers spilling their blood in the factories.
We want to point out that there are other recommendations the Council made in its third report that is important for the government to put in practice. It’s the recommendation for the Haitian state to ratify OIT Convention 189 for domestic workers and yard custodians so that they enjoy all their rights as workers. There are other recommendations, namely, modifying Article 2.2 of the2009 Law for a uniform minimum wage in the textile sector. So this would allow the union to negotiate better salary for piece-work based on quotas. Other recommendation made is to allow inspection of the work floor in the factories to fight brute abuse and exploitation against workers. Another recommendation made is to allow an improvement in the social security and social protection in the country for workers, such as benefits in transportation, housing, and food, to improve living conditions of workers. Still another recommendation is to put in place a mechanism to allow all formal and informal workers to enlist in ONA (National Insurance Office) and OFATMA (Office of Insurance for Line-of-Duty Accidents, Illness and Maternity).
In this vein, we want to denounce the maneuvers of management to prevent OFATMA to be the agency for Illness and maternity insurance. It’s been 40 years since OFATMA had this responsibility, but did not launch it. But private insurance companies were never interested to offer health insurance services for poor workers. Today, OFATMA wants to offer health, maternity insurance and line-of-duty accident insurance, and the private sector is blocking it. They don’t stop bad-mouthing OFATMA so that workers don’t have access to high-quality care when they are sick or pregnant. They all say it’s not in the advantage of workers and laborers. The question we are asking is, “what good did vulture do for the owl to name its young vulturoso?” All of that shows the incapacity of the state to play its role as it should and so management is able to play these games under the table.
We, in the Textile Plants Union Platform, our call is for all workers in the textile sector to mobilize everywhere on questions of salary, social security and protections, in Port-Au-Prince, Ouanaminthe, and Caracol to tell the Privert/Jean-Charles government to establish the minimum wage quickly acceptable to the workers so they can take a breath under the high cost-of-living in the country and take measures to apply the recommendations of the Supreme Salary Council made in the report for this year.
We urge the removal of all corrupt regional general directors and inspectors who don’t know their role so that the workers case stop sleeping in the drawers of the MASToffice.
We demand that OFATMA raise its feet on the question of Illness and Maternity Insurance so the workers and laborers may have access to care for themselves and their children when they are sick. The state must make fundamental changes in the law of social security system in the country. Workers and laborers in the factories and all categories of laborers in the country must rise up to demand salary adjustment, and all other social benefits that the government must quickly implement so we may breathe.
Remember, MAYDAY is soon. PLASIT isorganizing two big demonstrations in Port-Au-Prince and Ouanaminthe to mark May First in front of SONAPI and CODEVI. All workers, peasants, laborers, unemployed laborers, progressives must be there at 8 A.M. sharp.
LONG LIVE THE WORKING CLASS WORLDWIDE!
Forthe Textile Plants Union Platform,
Telemarque Pierre Toussaint Lucny Pegui F. JONEL
SOTA-BO SOKOWA SOVASHG
3786 4038 3314 3529 36744394
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Konferans pou laprès jou ki 14 avril 2016
N ap salye tout zanmi laprès pale ekri ak televize ki vin kouvri konferans PLASIT ki se Platfòm Sendikal Izin Tekstil yo pou lanse mobilizasyon pou ajisteman sale minimòm pou ane 2015-2016. Nou menm nan PLASIT, nou konstate se 8 mwa apre ane fiskal la kòmanse Konsèy Siperyè Salè resi fè rekomandasyon li yo bay gouvenman an, menm jan ak 2 ane anvan yo. Kidonk, se yon yon move abitid Konsèy la genyen nan pa respekte sa ki prevwa nan atik 4.1 lwa 2009 sou salè minimòm lan.
Anndan Konsèy Siperyè Salè sa a, se plis dilatwa ak konplo k ap fèt. Patwon yo ansanm ak swadizan 2 sendikalis ki nan konsey la ap fè tan pase pou patwon yo kontinye vòlè plizyè mwa salè ouvriye yo. Konsa, patwon yo gen plis latitid pou kontinye peye ouvriye yon salè mizè. Reta 8 mwa sa a fèt nan avantaj patwon yo li ye pandan tout pwodyi premye nesesite ap monte bwa epi Ministè afè sosyal pa fòse yo respekte atik 137 ki di depi to enflasyon monte a plis ke 10%, sale ouvriye yo dwe ajiste. Jodia, to enflasyon rive a plis ke 14.5 %. Kidonk, konplo kont enterè Ouvriye ak ouvriyez yo ap mare pi rèd.
Nou aprann Konsèy la apre 8 mwa dilatwa pwopoze pou salè minimòm referans la ta vin 300 goud epi salè minimòm pwodiksyon ta vin 400 goud pa jou pou sekte tekstil la. Li klè 300/400 goud pap ka rezoud ansanm problem nou genyen yo sitou jan kou lavi a ap ogmante epi pouvwa dacha nou ap diminye.pandan goud la pa sispann pedi valè li devan dola a. Pou nou menm pi piti pou salè minimòm lan ta ye se ant 500 e 1000 goud. Men kit se patwon yo kit se sousou yo nan leta a k ap resevwa lòd nan men bayè fon etranje yo di sa ap anpeche Ayiti konpetitif parapò a lot peyi. N ap denonse kalite agiman konplo sa yo k ap fet sou do ouvriye k ap rann san yo nan faktori.
N ap souliye, gen dot rekòmandasyon Konsey la fe nan 3e rapo li a ki enpotan pou gouvènman an ta mete an aplikasyon. Se rekòmadasyon pou leta ayisyen ratifye konvansyon OIT 189 pou travayè kay moun tankou bòn oswa sèvant ak gason lakou jwi de tout dwa yo antanke travaye. Gen dòt rekomandasyon tankou pou yo ta modifye atik 2.2 nan lwa 2009 la pou ta gen yon sel salè minimòm nan sekte tekstil la. Konsa sa ta pèmèt sendika yo negosye pi bon salè pou travay alapyes ki fet sou tarif yo. Gen rekomandasyon pou ta gen bon jan enspeksyon travay nan izin yo pou konbat abi ak esplwatasyon anraje k ap fet kont ouvriye yo. Gen lot rekomandasyon ki ka pèmet amelyore sistem sekirite ak pwoteksyon sosyal nan peyi a pou tout travayè tankou mezi dakonpayman nan transpo, lojman, manje pou amelyore kondisyon lavi travayè yo. Epi gen rekomandasyon pou mete yon mekanism ki pèmèt tout travayè fòmèl kou enfòmèl enskri nan ONA ak OFATMA.
Se nan kad sa a, nap pwofite denonse magouy sektè patwonal la ap fè pou se pa OFATMA ki regle kesyon asirans maladi ak matènite. Sa fè plis pase 40 tan OFATMA te gen chay sa a, li patko lanse li. Men konpayi asirans prive yo pa t janm enterese ofri sevis asirans sante pou travayè pòv yo. Jodia OFATMA rantre nan ofri asirans sante matenite anplis asirans kont aksidan nan travay, sekte prive a ap bloke sa. Yo pa sispann bay OFATMA kout lang pou ouvriye pa jwen bon kalite swen lè yo malad oswa ansent.la Yo tout te gen tan wè li pap nan avantaj ouvriye/ travayè yo. Kesyon n ap poze ki byen frize te fè pou koukou konsa pou li ta fè pitit li pou relel frizelya? Tout sa montre nou enkapasite leta pou jwe wòl li komsadwa ki fè sektè patwonal ap fe tout jwet anba tab sa yo.
Nou menm nan Platfòm Sendikal Izin Tekstil yo, modòd nou se pou tout ouvriye/yèz nan sektè tekstil la mobilize tout kote sou kesyon salè, sekirite ak pwoteksyon sosyal. kit nan Pòtoprens, Wanament ak nan Karakòl pou di gouvènman Privert /Jean-Charles la fikse salè minimòm lan prese prese ki aseptab pou ouvriye/yèz yo, rale yon souf anba lavichè a nan peyi a epi pran mezi pou aplike rekòmandasyon Konsey siperye Sale fe nan rapò pou ane sa a.
N ap ekzije revokasyon tout direktè jeneral rejyonal ak enspektè tèt anba kip a konn wòl yo prese prese pou dosye ouvriye yo ka sispann domi nan tiwa Biwo Mast.
N ap mande pou OFATMA leve pyel sou kesyon kat asirans maladi ak matènite a pou ouvriye, travayè yo ka jwenn swen pou lè yo menm ak pitit yo malad. Fok leta fe gwo chanjman nan lwa sou sistèm sekirite sosyal peyi a. Ouvriye ak ouvriyèz nan faktori yo ak tout lot kategori travayè nan peyi a dwe leve kanpe pou mande ajisteman salè ak tout lòt avantaj sosyal ke gouvènman an dwe mete prese prese pou nou kapab pran souf. Sonje Premye me se demen, PLASIT ap oganize 2 gwo mach nan Potoprens ak nan Wanament pou komemore Premye me devan SONAPI ak CODEVI. Tout ouvriye, peyizan, travaye, chome, pwogresis dwe la depi 8tè fè beng. VIV LIT KLAS OUVRIYE A TOUT PA TOU SOU LATÈ.
Pou Platfòm Sendika Izin Tekstil,
Telemarque Pierre Toussaint Lucny Pegui F. JONEL
SOTA-BO SOKOWA SOVASHG
3786 4038 3314 3529 3674 4394
N ap ekzije revokasyon tout direktè rejyonal ak enpektè tet anba ki pa konn wòl yo prese /prese pou dosye ouvriye yo ka sispann domi nan tiwa Biwo MAST. Enspeksyon travay, konsilyasyon ak medyasyon se wòl Biwo Travay MAST yo.