Call n°262 (From 26 June 2003 To 10 September 2003)

HAITI - POLICE INTIMIDATION

Sixteen years after the fall of the dictatorship, abuse of power by Lavalas authorities is still compromising the development of the Americas’ poorest country. Economic and social indicators in the red, constant political crisis, repression of human rights, child labour, freezing of international aid, etc. are all regular features. Haiti’s marginalization carries on in almost complete indifference. A caricature of loser countries in the economic globalization race, as the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions put it, Haiti is also one of the worst places in the world when it comes to trade union rights. A new example illustrates this sad situation in Cap Haïtien in the north of the country where violence has once again been used against trade unionists. This time the police are directly responsible.

The Brasserie du Nord brewery in Cap Haitien is part of the Brasserie nationale d’Haïti group that produces the local beer Prestige. Managing director Michael Madsen belongs to one of the richest industrial families in the country that arrived in Haiti from Denmark in the late 19th century. It represents the Danish Consulate in Haiti and also owns the Huilerie Nationale SA (HUNSA) as well as the import-expert company Madsen.

For over a year, workers in the Cap Haïtien brewery have been making individual demands for wage increases. To avoid meeting these demands and to prevent any generalization of the movement, the company practises selective dismissals. It ensures that no employee works in the factory for more than three months, and thus avoids having to pay compulsory benefits.

But since the Haitian state president has announced a possible increase in the minimum wage, demands and consequent dismissals have been increasingly frequent. In early April 2003, 25 workers had already been sacked.

DIALOGUE AND BEATINGS

On 22 April 2003 Ronal Toussaint and Vilcius Lainé asked to meet the director, Leslie Duchâtelier. Both presented him with grievances concerning their wages and working conditions. This was an individual act and no union action was planned to support their demands. As soon as the interview was over the two men returned to work. But this discussion put the factory managers on the alert. The police were called and one of the patrols of the Union Départementale de Maintien de l’Ordre (UDMO) immediately arrived.

In the Cap Haïitien area, UDMO is known for its brutality. In October 2001 it assaulted workers of the World Food Programme who were demonstrating for improved working conditions.

As soon as the patrol arrived, Leslie Duchâtelier and his chief engineer André Chery led them to the workstations of the two "guilty" employees. The workers were beaten and threatened with "option zero", then forced into a car and taken to the local police station. There the severe beatings they received left marks for a long time after their detention.

In the meantime officials from the Social Affairs Ministry visited the Brasserie du Nord but noted no problem. For them, nothing had happened that could justify their intervention. In fact they considered that no labour conflict warranted their intervention in the firm.

A SURPRISING RELEASE

Ronald and Vilcius spent five long days in preventive detention before appearing before a judge who referred the case to the public prosecutor without any charge. The government commissioner sent them back into detention. On the same day a delegation from the Brasserie nationale travelled from Port-au-Prince and obtained several appointments at the law courts. Strangely, the next day the prosecutor issued an order of release without the two men being heard at any stage. No charges were laid. The judicial part of the affair is murky. At no stage was the Doyen of the court of first instance informed, and the state prosecutor’s office did not transmit the file to the investigating judge.

On 30 April the trade union Batay Ouvriyé [1] was mobilized on this issue. It requested the intervention of lawyers from the Groupe d’Assistance Juridique (legal assistance group) with which it works and alerted the Plate-forme des Organisations Haïtiennes de Défense des Droits Humains (POHDH), an umbrella organization of Haitian human rights groups. The POHDH undertook a field inquiry and submitted its report on 27 May 2003.

The report clearly shows connivance between Cap Haïtien company managers, police and court officials, in a context in which officials from the Social Affairs Ministry did nothing to exercise control. That is why, before the situation turns into a tragedy, as at the Guacimal plantation [2], it is important to show that the conflict is known about beyond the country’s borders, and that people care about its resolution.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Ministry under surveillance

Haiti’s former police chief Jean-Claude Jean-Baptiste has recently been appointed State Secretary for Labour. This official was implicated in criminal affairs a few years ago. His appointment is cause for concern by trade unionists. Is the country headed for a criminalization of trade union activities?

Minimum wage Vital wage

On 17 April 2003 the Haiti Republic government gazette renewed the law that set the minimum wage to be paid by the country’s industrial, commercial and agricultural enterprises for an 8-hour working day at 70 groudes (1.56 euros). But it seems that the information has difficulty filtering down to the regional departments of the Social Affairs Ministry and private companies.
Yet this adjustment of the minimum wage by no means compensates for increases in the cost of living and therefore of families’ vital expenses.

Batay Ouvriyé web site
www.batayouvriye.com

CALL IN COOPERATION WITH: Haïti Support Group (Grande-Bretagne)
http://haitisupport.gn.apc.org

LETTER to Mr Michael Madsen, CEO of BRANASA:

M. Michael MADSEN
PDG de BRANASA
Brasserie Nationale SA
Route de l’Aéroport
P.O.Box 1334
HT 6110 PORT-AU-PRINCE
HAITI

[date]

Dear Sir,

I have been informed by Réseau-Solidarité (10, quai de Richemont, 35000 Rennes, France) of the situation in your Cap Haïtien factory. I urge you to intervene to ensure the improvement of working conditions in this company, especially by adjusting wages in line with the minimum set by the Haitian government.

I intend to keep a close watch on the situation in your company to ensure that workers are not victims of repression because of their trade union activities.

More precisely, following the events of 22 April 2003, I request that you compensate for the damages suffered by your two workers Ronald Toussaint and Vilcius Lainé.

Yours faithfully,

[signature] [name]

[1] On several occasions the Réseau-Solidarité has relayed calls from the Batay Ouvriyé movement, relative to the Port-au-Prince free zones and orange plantations in northern Haiti

[2] Call n° 250 by Réseau-Solidarité: Haiti, blood in the plantations (June 2002)