Garment workers in Haiti protest for higher wages

Haitian garment workers in Port-au-Prince began protesting on Thursday to demand higher wages after weeks of demonstrations regarding wages and working conditions at companies that export to U.S. clothing businesses. The news was reported by Reuters.

Haiti has long been a hub for apparel manufacturing, given its low wages and proximity to the United States. However, U.S. companies have been critiqued for how extremely low the wages they pay Haitian garment workers are.

Workers are seeing a wage increase to 15 U.S. dollars per day. Dominique St Eloi, a union leader, said if factories don’t respond to their demands, they will ask the Haitian government to raise the minimum wage.

In 2017, Haitian government workers began demanding higher wages, but the Haitian government said this would just lead to companies moving operations to other countries. Last November, U.S. congressional members asked 62 American companies to investigate working conditions in Haiti to see if they were meeting ethical standards.

Haiti’s manufacturing trade group, the Association of Industries of Haiti, did not immediately respond to request for comment.