Pressure mounts on Grupo M to negotiate with Haitian workers!

Information in this alert comes from the Maquila Solidarity Network. For more information, contact info@maquilasolidarity.org or visit www.maquilasolidarity.org.
(Posted December 6, 2004)

Pressure is mounting on the Dominican apparel manufacturer, Grupo M, to respect its Haitian workers' right to organize and bargain collectively at the company's Codevi jean factory located in Haiti 's Ouanaminthe free trade zone on the country's border with the Dominican Republic.

Labor and anti-sweatshop organizations around the world are demanding that the company return production to the factory, reinstate union leaders and other workers dismissed in June, and negotiate with the workers' union, SOKOWA, to resolve outstanding issues.

As Grupo M's principle customer, Levi Strauss, is also being urged to bring increased pressure on its supplier to redress the unjust firings and other worker rights violations at the factory. Although Levi's took positive action earlier in the dispute to facilitate the reinstatement of fired union leaders, more recently the company allowed Grupo M to shift some of the production of a Levi's order to the Dominican Republic .

Maquila Solidarity Network and other worker rights groups are also calling upon the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank to use its influence to convince Grupo M to negotiate with the union. In January 2004, the IFC agreed to provide a US$20 million loan to the company for the construction of an industrial park in the zone, under the condition that Grupo M respect the rights of its Haitian workers to freedom of association and to bargain collectively.

The international campaign appears to have brought the company back to the negotiating table. On August 9, Grupo M released a public statement pledging, "Workers dismissed on or around June 11 will be recalled as work becomes available." In the statement, the company also agrees to enter into "professionally mediated negotiations with SOKOWA...." A mutually acceptable mediation team will assist with union-management negotiations, including on the reinstatement of dismissed workers.

Despite this positive statement, the success of mediated negotiations will require a change in the company's attitude toward the union. In April, Codevi workers appeared to have achieved a major victory, when Grupo M agreed to reinstate 34 unjustly fired union activists and negotiate with SOKOWA. That agreement was reached at an April 13 meeting that involved SOKOWA, the Haitian worker rights group Batay Ouvriye, Grupo M, Haitian government, industry and union officials, the IFC, the Worker Rights Consortium, and Levi's. As part of the agreement, an independent observer group was set up to monitor the implementation of the agreement.

In May, the observers noted increases in production quotas and an escalation of intimidation, provocation and humiliation of workers by factory management. On June 7, workers staged a one-day strike in response to mistreatment of workers and delays in negotiations, but agreed to return to work the following day based on the understanding that Grupo M had agreed to resume negotiations with the union. However, instead of returning to the bargaining table, over the next few days, management dismissed over 350 workers, including nearly all of the union leadership.