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Following the introduction of this law there was evidence that
there had been a significant reduction in the numbers of children
working on the sugar cane plantations and that trade unions had
been allowed to recruit on the estates. However, it has been clear
for some time that the new Code is still not being fully implemented
and the recruitment and employment conditions of many Haitians working
on government-owned sugar cane plantations are still in contravention
of both the UN 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of
Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar
to Slavery, and the ILO Convention 29 on Forced Labour. Both of
these have been ratified by the Dominican Republic.
In September 1997 a mission from the United Nations Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights visited the Dominican Republic
to follow up the Committee's expressed concern about the problems
faced by Haitians living in the Dominican Republic. In its report
the mission noted the continuing unacceptable living conditions
on the shanty settlements in the middle of the sugar cane plantatations,
known as bateyes, the need for the government to regularise the
registration of children of immigrant workers and the need to end
the practice of treating all Haitian workers as "foreigners in transit"
in order to deny them the right to Dominican nationality. (E/C12/1997/9)
According to information received this year by Anti-Slavery International
from the Movement of Dominico-Haitian Women (MUDHA) and from the
Dominican Committee on Human Rights (CDH), Haitian workers are still
being treated as second class citizens and their rights widely flouted
on the sugar cane plantations.
Workers for the sugar cane plantations are recruited by buscones
(contractors for the sugar estates) from among the thousands of
Haitians currently seeking work and work permits at the border between
Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The buscones recruit the workers
on both sides of the border and then sub contract them to the plantations,
thereby allowing the government to pay lower wages than would otherwise
be possible. Although unaccompanied minors are not legally allowed
to cross the border there is evidence that the controls are easily
avoided by the buscones.
Once the workers have reached the plantations the problems remain
very similar to previously expressed concerns:
… workers must live on the bateyes where the living quarters are
generally very poor, often they do not have any regular supply of
potable water and sanitation facilities are minimal;
… in the past few years the amount paid for a tonne of sugar cane
cut has been raised to 43 pesos (US$3), but cheating by those responsible
for weighing the cane is rife. This cheating was reduced two to
three years ago by the introduction at union insistence of regular
official inspections. However, since November 1997 the official
inspections have been much reduced. At the same time union leaders,
such as Antonio Sanción who had worked on the plantations for 22
years, have been victimised for having raised the issue by being
dismissed without any compensation or even back pay owing to them.
… despite the fact that it is illegal both under the local Code
and in international law, workers are still commonly paid in tokens
of two types: "tickets" for the cane cutting and loading and "coupons"
for cane cleaning. The tickets can be converted into cash but only
at a 20 per cent discount. Coupons are specific to individual supervisors
and may only be used at a shop nominated by the supervisor.
…workers are not paid for the first three months of their contracts
during which period they have to survive on savings (if any) and
the small amounts of food they can grow on their own tiny plots
of land. This is the result of the government withholding payment
for sugar exports to the state sugar company. At the end of this
period pay begins but the back pay is withheld until the end of
the contract and workers who leave early lose this money. In addition
two pesos are often deducted from every 80 pesos earned to set up
a small fund for workers when they return to Haiti, but they are
rarely given this money.
The Haitians and Dominico-Haitians who live on the bateyes are still
treated much worse than local workers. This is demonstrated by the
fact that there are military posts on each bateye and special police
are used to control the areas and by the fact that few if any native
born Dominicans work as cane cutters. According to information from
CDH and MUDHA the military presence leads to many cases of random
violence, both physical and sexual, against the workers and their
families and illegal detention of people, including children, in
local lock-ups (jails) on the bateyes. This is continuing despite
the presentation of dossiers detailing illegal detentions to the
government.
Official figures concerning the number of people employed on the
sugar cane plantations are difficult to discover. However, currently
there are around 400 bateyes servicing the plantations and
12 sugar refineries, numbers living on the bateyes range
up to 3-4,000 on the larger ones (ca 100) and 3-400 on the smaller
ones. This means that there are about 300,000 workers either on
the plantations or working in such areas as agriculture, construction
or various jobs in the informal sector who could be affected by
the illegal and exploitative practices which have been described.
Anti-Slavery International and the Movement of Dominico-Haitian
Women believe that the treatment of Haitian and Dominico-Haitian
workers on the state-owned sugar cane plantations is still in contravention
of the Dominican Republic Labour Code and the ILO Convention 29
on Forced Labour. We call upon the Dominican Republic to put in
hand immediately the reforms necessary to end this longstanding
exploitation of and discrimination against Haitian and Dominico-Haitian
sugar cane workers. In particular we recommend:
… all wages should be paid in cash and on a weekly basis from the
commencement of employment; schools should be established on or
near to all bateyes and these should have the same conditions and
facilities as all other state schools in the Dominican Republic;
… a system for inspecting the weighing process on the plantations
should be re-established;
… recruitment of workers for the bateyes should be carried out
via local or Haitian trade unions, not via contractors;
… all workers should have individually signed contracts which are
explained to them before signature;
… living conditions in the bateyes should be improved, especially
ending the use of communal barracks and the installation of proper
sanitary facilities;
… the practice of having army posts on all bateyes should
be stopped;
… children born to Haitians on the bateyes should be recognised
by the State and they should be granted a legal identity in the
Dominican Republic;
… Haitians who have worked and lived in the Dominican Republic for
a reasonable period (five years) should be granted legal status
and not treated as foreigners in transit. This would give them some
security and allow them to seek jobs in other areas of the economy.
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