Garment workers in Haiti took to the streets on Monday as trade union officials confirmed that talks for a new minimum wage had broken down.
The demonstrations by the workers, the second in two weeks, followed an announcement by Fignolé St-Cyr, the Secretary General of the Haitian Self-Employed Workers’ Union (CATH) and Trade Union Representative within the Superior Council of Wages (CSS) said negotiations for an end to the crisis between employers and trade unions had broken down.
St-Cyr said the workers are seeking a minimum wage increase of 300 to 800 Gourdes for a working day. Workers now receive a minimum daily wage of 300 Gourdes.
The workers at factories making T-shirts, pants and other apparel also demonstrated in support of 40 trade union members who were fired from a Port-au-Prince industrial park where an estimated 18,000 people are employed by the factories there.
