From Disney to the producer

Walt Disney Company is well known worldwide for its films, cartoons and Disney theme parks.

Walt Disney's net income amounted $1,966 million in 1997 ($1,110 million in 1995). This net income is due to three kind of activities 

It is in the third category (Creative content) that are comptabilised the incomes due to consumer products. " Licensing of characters from Disney films remains enomously successful. " says Barton K. Boyd, president of Disney Consumer products in the Disney annual report 1997. So far, we can assume that a significant part of the Company's profits is generated by the merchandising of garments, accessories and gadgets using the images of Disney's heroes.

These profits are made directly through the sale of the products in Disney stores, Disney parks, aso or undirectly through license for the use of the Disney's names and Disney's personnages on garment and accessories sold in supermarkets everywhere in the world.

Sales of consumer products would have to increase during the next years, as, according to the Disney annual report 1997 " Internationally, Disney will introduce " product corners " in department stores and other key outlets on three continents."

The production of garments and accessories take place usually in countries or in sites where salaries are very low, where labour conditions are not under control and where it is difficult for the workers to organise themselves to defend their rights.

To complete this short presentation of the Walt Disney Company, it is important to add that the Walt Disney Company is presenting itself as a guardian and a vehicle towards a young public of moral and ethical american values.

1.2. Walt Disney Company's code of conduct

Walt Disney Company has a code of good behaviour. The main values vehiculated by this code are :

1. ethical and responsible behaviour in all the operations ;
2. respect of the rights of all individuals ;
3. respect of the environment.

In 1997, the Walt Disney Company has modified its Code of conduct for Manufacturers to conform quite closely to the Workplace Code of Conduct developed by the White House Apparel Industry Partnership (see this code in appendix).

According to Walt Disney company, implementation and monitoring of the respect of this code by all subcontractors is a serious issue (see in appendix the letter adressed to the Clean Clothes campaign by Mr. Didier Vanneste, managing director of The Walt Disney Company Benelux).

1.3. Why to focus on the Walt Disney Company ?

From more than two years now, Walt Disney Company is the subject of criticism from labour organisations, particularly about the practices of the licencees in Haïti. Very bad labour conditions, violation of legal obligations in terms of minimum wages and work time, harassment of the workers were denunced by the National Labor Committee .

During the summer 1997, H.H. Cutler, one of the main licensees of the Walt Disney Company in Haïti has declared its intention to stop all its activities in Haïti. At that time, Cutler's activities were concerning 2 300 Haitian workers. This amount represents 10 % of all the manpower of the assembly sector in the country.

1.4. Walt Disney in Haïti

According to informations collected early in 1997, at least 13 factories produced Walt Disney goods in Haïti (see the complete list and adresses in appendix):

1. BVF Apparel Manufacturing S.A.
2. Confections et emballage (CEE)
3. Classic Apparel Company n°1
4. Classic Apparel n°2
5. Gilanex Manufcturing SA n°1
6. Gilanex Manufacturing n°2
7. Gilanex Manufacturing n°3
8. GENASCOSA
9. L.V. MYLES
10. MEGATEX
11. NATIONAL SEWING COMPANY
12. TEAN MANUFACTURING
13. VETEX (VETEMENTS TEXTILES SA)

Usually, Disney does not have direct contract with these factories. It gives licenses to companies that subcontract the orders to several factories in Haïti. One of the Walt Disney licensee company that was working in Haïti is H.H. Cutler. Another is L.V. Myles.

1.5. H.H. Cutler

H.H. Cutler is a division of VF Corporation, one of the world's largest apparel companies, maker of Wrangler, Lee jeans, and Disney items. For over two years, the VF Corporation has produced clothing in the military dictature of Burma. In May 5 1996, for example, a VF subsidiary located in Holly Pond, Alabama, imported 17.703 pounds of men's and women's Lee shirts made in Burma. (Just two months before, in February 96, the VF Corporation shut down two factories in Alabama, putting 1.040 workers out of their jobs.)

H.H. Cutler is a USA based company. Over the last several years, H.H. Cutler has slashed its direct employment in the USA by 75%, laying off 2.550 employees. In the middle of 1997, 75% of H.H. Cutler's production were offshore. The remaining 25% are subcontracted in USA.

H.H. Cutler has sewn clothing in Haïti for the last several years under contract with the Walt Disney Company, Nike and others. In january 1997, H.H. Cutler had subcontracts with ten assembly plants in Haïti, where more than 2.300 workers sewed clothing for export to the USA. Amongs these subcontractors were Classic Apparel that sold under League leader label at Wal-Mart and jerseys produced for H.H. Cutler, and the 3 Gilanex factories that are owned by George Sassine and that were producing exclusively for H.H. Cutler and Disney in 1996.

The situation in these factories will be the subject of other chapters below in this file. But it is already quite interesting to compare the situation prevailing in Gilanex factories with situations prevailing in other production units that are not producing for Disney/Cutler.

A stone's throw from the Gilanex factories is another assembly plant, Multi-Industries, which sews T-shirts under contracts with a Canadian company. Workers at Multi-Industries earn between 63 cents and 83 cents an hour, which is two to three times what workers sewing Disney garments et Gilanex make. The highest paid workers at Gilanex earn 38 cents an hour, while the majority earn closer to the 28 cents minimum wage.

According to George Sassine, Gilanex's owner, to maintain low wages is the only way to make a living off his three factories sewing Disney clothings for H.H. Cutler. Richard Coles, the owner of the Multi-Industries factory does not share this point of view. Interviewed in 1996, he said " Haïtian businessmen are used to make enormous profits - $100.000 or $200.000 a month, and this has been going on for more than a decade. " According to Richard Coles, the giant retailers and the US apparel companies do absolutely exploit Haïti 's poverty, its dilapidated infrastructure, its political instability in order to drive contract prices down in Haïti. For example, under contract with a Canadian company, he is paid $2,60 for every dozen shirts sewn in his factory, while the exact same work would contract for $3,20 a dozen in Honduras (22 cents per shirt in Haïti, 27 cents in Honduras). But even at the low contract price of 22 cents per shirt, it is possible to make money. Multi Industries' total labor cost (direct and indirect) to sew each shirt is 8 cents, while factory overhead adds 5 cents more to the production cost. Overhead included $2.500 a month rent, and $83 a day for gas to run the generators. Total production cost amounts to 13 cents per shirt. Given the contract price of 22 cents, he makes 9 cents or a 40 percent profit on each garment. With 200 workers, Multi-Industries produces 16.800 T-shirts a day. After all operating expenses, its profits are $1.512 a day, $30.000 a month and $360.000 for the year. Remembering that Multi-Industries is paying its workers two to three times what Gilanex pays, and knowing that not 200 but 700 workers are producing in the three Mr. Sassine factories, it is reasonable to assume that Mr. Sassine is making a lot of money, contrary to his affirmation.

On the May 4, 1995 the haïtian legal minimum wage was raised from 15 gourdes ($1) a day to 36 gourdes ($2,40) a day. The law requires employers to ensure that workers earn at least the minimum wage. An investigation undertook by the National Labor Committe in August 1995 shown that over half of the 50 assembly plants in Haïti producing for United States companies were illegally paying below the minimum wage. Including among these companies were at least two H.H. Cutler contractors (Quality Garments and Charles Handal) where NLC found wages as low as 12 cents an hour.

In July 1997, as a result of pressure from campaigning and workers struggles, most companies in Haïti pay at least the minimum wage. But, even if a company does pay the minimum wage, workers earn $14.40 a week, working 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. A full-time minimum wage salary provides less than 60% of a family's basic needs. In order to satisfy the minimum needs for food, shelter and education a family in Port-au-Prince (where garment factories are concentrated) must spend at the very least 363 gourdes- $24.40 per week (see indications about the living cost in appendix). As we saw above, some Haitian factory owners claim that they can't afford to pay more than they do, and complain that higher wages will make them lose business to firms in other countries in the Carribean. Meanwhile, wages in Haiti are the lowest in the whole region.

Nevertheless, the wage which is being paid out is based on production quotas, if a worker doesn't reach the production quota, the worker is paid less than the minimum legal wage (36 gourdes a day). At National Sewing Contractors, under contract with L.V. Myles, one of the Disney licencees, workers were found to only earn $1,- a day, which comes down to earning 12 cents an hour (see the case L.V. Myles below). It is possible to earn a bonus but the high piece-rate prevents it even with the most experienced women to ever reach it.

Other grievances of workers in the apparel industry are threats if they try to organise and claim the right to collective bargaining. By law all workers have the right to organise. Frequently, though, it has happened that some workers were picked out haphazzardly and being blaimed for the initiative to form a union, and consequently were fired.

Despite the repression, workers do try to organise especially around the issue of wage levels but also in order to fight sexual harassment,verbal abuses, threats, no access to potable water, not enough sanitary facilities, no adequate lighting and ventilation and the constant pressure to work at an enourmous speed (for more detail see the box below).

Source : " The US in Haïti ­ How to get rich on 11cents an hour " a report of the National Labor Committee, january 1996

Quality Garments S.A. located in SONAPI industrial parc, produces under the " Kelly Reed " and " Kelly Reed Woman " labels sold at Kmart, under the " Movie Star " label for Movie Star Garment and Universal Mfg, a subsidiary of Kingley Corp. and Disney Pajamas under the " Mickey Unlimited " label for the L.V. Myles Corp. Under license with the Walt Disney Company. The plant has also been a regular producer for the H.H. Cutler Co., until as late as June 1995. In April 1996 the average worker earned about $1,67 per day, 73 cents less than the required minimum wage. The company pays straight time on weekends instead of the time-and-a-half as is Haitian law requires.

National Sewing Contractors produces, amongs other products, Disney pajamas under contract with L.V. Myles. Wages at the plant vary widely, with some workers making as little as 15 gourdes ($1) for 8 hours of work. The owner of the plant, Charles Chevalier Jr. Is openly nostalgic for the days of the Duvalier dictatorship, when workers who attempted to organize were routinely murdered by state-sponsored deathquads. " Jean Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier was a great man compared to these... " he said in 1995 in an interview with labor researcher Marcelo Hoffman. " I mean, his administration was good compared to what's happening now. "

Seamfast Manufacturing, produces for Ventura Ltd. That sold products at Kmart and J.C.Penney, and produces for Universal Manufacturing, subsidiary of Kingley Corp., under Kelly Reed and Kelly Reed Woman label, sold at Kmart. Wages are the lowest in Haiti. One woman with 3 years of experience reported to earn 87 cents for an 8 hour work day. Manager Abraham Felix

Chancerelles S.A., subsidiary from Fine Form, New York produces for Elsie Undergarments of Haileah, Florida. Sold under Shuly's and Elsie labels at J.C. Penney and smaller retailers. John Whistler is U.S. director of the plant. Workers say to earn an average of $1.73 to $1.80 a day. The supervisors, especially chief supervisor Franck Charles verbally abuse the workers on a regular basis.

Excel Apparel Exports, jointly owned and operated with the Kellwood Co. produces women's underwear for Hanes, a division of Sarah Lee corporation, and slips sold at Dillard

Department store, nightwear for movie star, sold at sears and Bradlees. Workers earn less than $1.33. Since the passage of the new minimum wage law quotas have been increased with more than 100%.

Alpha sewing, produces industrial gloves for Ansell Edmont of Coshocto, Ohio, owned by

Ansell International of Lilburn, Georgia, in turn owned by Pacific Dunlop Ltd, Melbourne Australia. Workers report skin and respiratory problems because of worker unprotectedly with heavy chemicals. Workers work approximately 78 hours a week, 75 % of the women do not earn the minimum wage. The company is owned by the Apaid family.

During the summer 1997, H.H. Cutler, one of the main licencee of the Walt Disney Company in Haïti has declared its intention to stop all its activities in Haïti. At that time, 2 300 workers were directly concerned. This amount represents 10 % of all the manpower of the assembly sector in the country.

Once the worker committee Batay Ouvriye (see presentation in appendix) learned about Cutler leaving out and the negative consequences that could come with it, it contacted workers from the concerned factories to find out that they were not told about it. Then, Batay Ouvriyé started to put out leaflets to inform them about it and to help understand the meaning of this decision and the fight that has to put up against the problem of relocalisation. Batay Ouvriyé contacted solidarity organizations. The response was tremendous from all progressive labor, human rights and solidarity groups or individual supporters from different corners of the world. A solidarity campaign developed rapidly in support of the Haïtian workers.

Organizations such as NLC, Disney/Haïti Justice Campaign, Witnesse for Peace in collaboration with Batay Ouvriye put out press releases or action alerts, organizes demonstrations and weekly pickets to convince people to contact Disney and H.H. Cutler or take other actions to denounce Cutler's decision and to help to understand the importance of this particular move on the part of a multinational corporation.

One of the reasons for H.H. Cutler to come to Haïti is based on a trend followed by transnational companies to lower their production costs in today's world economy. To do so, those companies move from country to country in search of the lowest production costs. The H.H. Cutler company went to a country like Haïti to take advantage of one of the lowest wages in the Caribbean basin. However, there were 2 important aspects that were developing at the same time :

1. While the Haitian political crisis is deepening, support for the assemblying plants workers struggles by an international solidarity movement is growing ;

2. Multinational companies are much more lured by various preferential policies offered by Asian or Eastern European countries despite the great transportation distance with the USA.

Launching of an active solidarity movement

The National Labor Committee (NLC) already involved in a Disney campaign in the United States took the initiative to alert all about Cutler's decision on July 28, 1997. NLC press release alerted urgently about jobs that would be threatened by Cutler's pulling out, and the need to develop a solidarity movement with Haïtian and US workers. And to demonstrate the connection between Cutler's decision and Disney's attitude regarding workers rights violations in Haïti and elsewhere. Disney refused categorically to use its weight as the licensing company to pressure Cutler from not pulling out of Haïti. Thus, showing the complicity between both companies. NLC denounced that as the " latest attempt by Disney/H.H. Cutler to cut and run from Haïti and the US in order to relocate production to China ". And it called upon all to get involve in letter writing campaigns or other actions and to participate in the " National Day of Conscience on October 4, 1997 to end Child Labor and sweatshop Abuses " as a way to support the workers in Haïti who were about to lose their jobs.

The group Disney/Haïti Justice Campaign organized meetings in different communities in New York with the support of different progressive grassroots organizations, distributed leaflets, called out press conferences, denounced the situation over numerous radio talk shows to New yorkers and within the Haïtian immigrant community and organized several demonstrations in front of a Disney store in Manhattan.

Organizations such as One Struggle, Witnesses for Peace or Christian Peacemakers Teams took their own initiatives to join their forces in that campaign throughout the United States. In Europe, several organizations took initiatives such as Haïti Support Group, World Development Mouvement in United Kingdom and the Clean Clothes campaign that organized demonstration and press events in several european countries.

In November 1997, a member of Batay Ouvriyé was invited to participate in a 26 southeastern cities tour in the US to make more people aware of the situation of the Haïtian workers and motivate them to join in the campaign to pressure Disney/H.H. Cutler not to cut and run from Haïti, but to improve the working conditions of the workers.

The Haïtian factory owners' reaction

Haïtian factory owners blamed NLC report about their sweatshops (" The US in Haïti ­ How to get rich on 11cents an hour ", published in January 1996) for Cutler's decision to pull out. However, none of them inform their employees about the threat of loosing their jobs nor the steps they were taking to keep producing garments. Afterward, two delegations from ADIH (Association des Industriels d'Haïti) went to talk to Cutler's president and to meet with some congressmen in Washington to lobby for more investments in Haïti by praising all the advantages that their country can offer to US companies.

Cutler and Disney's responses

Cutler's response was that his move is due to a downturn in sales, but not from the public pressure in support of better working conditions and labor rights. By September 1997, none of the factories were producing Disney garments for H.H. Cutler. Two of them (Gilanex 1 and 2 owned by Mr. Sassine) got closed for three months. However, Cutler decided by November 1997 to continue to produce in just one factory, the Classic Apparel company, without giving any reason. Was it a move to calm down public pressure or to shift attention in a public relations' ploy ? Shortly after, by February 1998, Cutler pulled out again stating the same previous reason, namely sales have fallen. They have to cut production. With the least production, Haïti is the first one to be cut off.

Disney refused publicly to put pressure on Cutler. It issued press statements to convey that it could not do anything about Cutler's leaving Haïti and that the company's decision was due to market changes. Furthermore, the Disney's Communication Department replied to all correspondences sent in protest to them and used the Disney Code of Conduct as a shield to repair their image. Disney did the same when groups supporting the Haïtian workers organized actions in front of the Disney stores or at the occasion of press first vision of Hercules. For example, when the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) organized a daily vigil (july 29 to August 2, 1997) at the national Conference of the Mennonite Church in Orlando Florida in front of Disney World, the Walt Disney Company came to talk with the CPT and hand them a press release to deny their responsabilities regarding the issues raised at that rally.

However in Haïti, Disney sent his own representatives to inspect the plants where their garments are made. These inspectors visited some of the factories floors but, in this case, they did not talk to workers. They met during long hours with the factory owners and US embassy officials.

The Walt Disney Company did not use its leverage as the licensee company to change Cutler's decision to cut its production in Haïti.

L.V. Myles

L.V. Myles Company is a subcontracting company located in the Sonapi industrial Park. The owner is the American Jeff Blatt. This plant use to assemble mainly Disney (Mickey unlimited/Lanz Disney theme park) garments. For the past few months, workers were also sewing clothes for other American apparel companies such as Warner Brothers, Eileen West, Franklin Sports and Sears.

Around the months of July and August 1997, workers felt their situation in this plant was seriously deteriorating in comparison to previous years. The quota of production, that define a daily wage of 50 gourdes, has been raised to a point the workers can not reach. Therefore they can only get 36 gourdes (the daily minimum wage). For example, when they were asked to assemble a blouse, they would have to sew the following number of pieces :

Workers at L.V. Myles wrote their grievances in different leaflets that were distributed on the floor. One morning, management fired a worker at random. Despite of this, workers continue to distribute leaflets on the factory floor to raise different issues concerning their working conditions, particularly the high quota of production and sexual harassment they have to deal with in the factory. Many of the men supervisors were accused by the workers and called upon to quit their activities.

In September 1997, after workers talked to a team of inspectors from Disney inside the plant, management launched a campaign of intimidation to stifle the most conscious workers. Most of the people who talked to the Disney inspectors got laid off or got fired without severance pay under the pretext that they were jobbers or they did not reach their probation period (even though they were fully experienced, some of whom have been working in garment manufacturing for over 10 years). More than 150 workers were dismissed in one weekend.

This way to proceed is a well know tactic used by the factory owners. After being fired, the same workers are then allowed to re-enlist as trainees. The purpose of these firings is to avoid paying benefits such as vacation days and sick days to these workers and to keep them at a lower wage scale.

By using such repressive tactics management is also clearly trying to illegally stop the workers from organising to defend their rights and to root out all suspected combative workers form the plant.

Confronting with this situation, Batay Ouvriye denounced Mr. Blatt's anti union policy and contacted several solidarity organizations in the USA to protest against those firings and demand that Disney takes its responsability regarding what was going at L.V. Myles.

Workers were demanding the following:

1. the immediate suspension of all acts of intimidation, lay-offs, firings and reprisals against
2. workers trying to organize;
3. the payment of a living wage to all workers, which in Haiti should be at least $5,- a day, and the lowering of quotas;
4. the termination of all acts of sexual harassment, and the improvement of working conditions;
5. the rehiring of all fired workers.

When contacted, Disney promised to look into it. The Disney correspondant presented Mr. Jeff Blatt, the factory owner as an open minded person who agreed to respect the Disney Code of conduct. When Mr. Chuck Champlin (Disney's director of Communication) contacted Batay Ouvriyé's office it was brought to his attention all the firings that were taken place and that contrary to his saying the Code of conduct was not posted at that plant. By a letter sent to Mr. Champlin, Disney director of communication, Batay Ouvriyé further stressed the fact that the code of conduct was neither posted nor the workers were informed about it.

Mr . Champlin never replied to this letter. And most of the workers who talked to the Disney representatives or those who were involved into organising were fired under different excuses. After in January 1998, Batay Ouvriyé learned that the Code of conduct was posted on a board in the factory and the newly hired workers were told about it once in a very careless manner while all the problems raised before by the workers were still prevailing.

Classic apparel S.A. and B.V.F. apparel MFG

In that same period, two other assembly plants producing Disney garments exhibited the same anti union policy.

In Classic Apparel, after dismantlying the union by coercing some of the union leaders, management raised the production quota, dismissed workers before their 3 month-probation period, and launched a repressive campaign against workers to crush all attemps to reorganize the union and to fight against the violations that were occuring in their workplace. At the present time, workers have to face with a deteriorating situation with the following aspects :

1. The firings of most of the union members ;
2. The constant raising of the quotas of production ;
3. The lack of respect through verbal violence or humiliation ;
4. The deterioration of the working conditions ;
5. The systematic dismissals of workers before their 3 month probation period ;
6. One 5 gallon water fountain for more than 500 workers
7. No working fans and poor lighting ;
8. Faulty sewing machines
9. 2 fonctioning toilets for more that 500 workers
10. Lack or inadequate medical service
11. The factory floor is full of lents or dust
12. Unsafe and hazardous conditions
13. Oppressive or dictatorial relations between director, supervisors and workers

In B.V.F. Apparel, management fired all the workers and closed the plant and relocate it in Carrefour (southern part of Port-au-Prince) with a small group of workers known to be against union activities.

In this particular assembly plant, a union was formed in 1996. But management used all kind of tactics to get rid o it. All known members of the union were under scrutiny. In november 1996, Odette Denier was fired for her union activities. The union requested a meeting with management several times, but never got a response. However in August 1997, after receiving a letter from the union legal counsel, the General Coordinator and the Secretary were fired under the allegation of damaging garments that were assembled at the plant. And when the workers learned about the factory moving to another part of Port-au-Prince, they demanded a raise or the company to provide a bus for their transportation. Management refused and fired most of them without paying their full severance pay. The workers had to go on a work stoppage and filed a complaint at the Ministry of Social Affairs to get their legal severance pay and other benefits. Now they are going to the Labor court to fight for fines and compensation.

The international solidarity campaign did not avoid the termination of Cutler's activities in Haïti. However in the whole some gains have been made.

Factories owners and The Walt Disney Company had to respond to the public pressure.

Disney had to translate its code of conduct in Creole and required the factory owners to post it inside the factories. Disney had to mandate its inspectors to visit the factories and to talk to the workers.

The Association of Haitian Industrial (ADIH) had to defend itself in adopting a code of good behaviour (see in annexe).

The campaign helped to pressure the factory owners to change some physical aspects or sanitary conditions inside the factories, even if it was only temporarly.

For the first time toward Haïti, a solidarity movement was initiated not only to support victims of bad political circumstances (coup d'etat, political oppression) but to support Haitian workers in struggle against exploitative practices of the local factory owners and multinational companies in the context of globalisation.

The campaign became a booster for workers to organize into unions, to present their grievances and to start to get involve in collective bargaining.

However, these achievements are not sufficient.

While the Disney's Code of Conduct is mentioning that " Manufacturers will respect the rights of employees to associate, organize and bargain collectively in a lawful and peaceful manner, without penalty or interference. ", the right of association and collective bargaining is frequently violated in factories producing for Disney in Haiti.

While the Disney's Code of Conduct is mentioning that " We expect manufactures to regognize that wages are essential to meeting employees' basic needs ", the daily wages paid by haïtian factories producing for Disney remains unsufficient.

The Walt Disney company
CEO Michael Eisner;
Disney consumer products
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank CA 91521
Tel: 818-560-1000
fax: 00 1 818 566 7835

Contact in Europe :
Consumerproducts Walt Disney co. Benelux
Monsieur Didier Vanneste
Bld Léopold II, 184 ­ D
1080 Bruxelles

Factories that produced Disney goods in Haïti
BVF Apparel Manufacturing S.A.
Mr. Alain Villard
rues Cineraire et Lumumba, Delmas
Port-au-Prince
46-4199

Confections et emballage (CEE)
Mr. Baker
rue Michiko / Route Nationale # 1
Port-au-Prince
22-2986 - 23-0242

Classic Apparel Company n°1
Mme Marie Claude Bayard
rue Frères Simmonds / Route de l'Aéroport
Port-au-Prince
46-1837 - 46-1337

Classic Apparel n°2
rue Justin Juste / Route de l'Aéroport
Port-au-Prince

Gilanex ManufActuring SA n°1
Mr. Sassine
Route de l'Aéroport (Entrée Imprimerie Deschamps)
Port-au-Prince
49-1801 - 49-1802

Gilanex Manufacturing n°2
rue Barbancourt / Route de l'Aéroport
Port-au-Prince

Genascosa
rue Michiko / Route Nationale # 1
Port-au-Prince
22-3052 - 22-4858 - 22-5712

L.V. Myles
Jr. Jeff Blatt
Parc industriel SONAPI #30
Port-au-Prince
tel: 46-4644
fax: 49-1565

Megatex
Mr. Liautaud
rue Barbancourt / Route de l'Aéroport
Port-au-Prince
49-3929

National Sewing Company
rue Barbancourt / Route de l'Aéroport
Port-au-Prince

Tean Manufacturing
Parc Industriel # 21
Port-au-Prince
46-3701 - 46-3713

Name unknow....
Parc Industriel # 22

VETEX (Vêtements Textiles) SA
rue Michiko / Route Nationale # 1
22-0172 - 22-3848

What CAN an Haitian worker do with the daily legal minimum wage of 36 gourdes?

What is left for shelter, health, clothing, education all other fundamental human rights and basic needs ?
6 gourdes.

36 gourdes is not a living wage.

Presentation of Batay Ouvriye

Batay Ouvriye is an association of unions, workers committees and militants working together towards the building of a autonomous, democratic and combative organisation of the working class in Haïti.

It organizes workers from formal and unformal sectors, peasants and unemployed people to defend their rights and their interests towards the development of a popular democratic movement.

Batay Ouvriye develops links with workers from other countries and organizations from the international solidarity movement. In this context, Batay Ouvriye is engaged in a campaign to denounce the practices of the Walt Disney company's subcontractors in HaIti.

On the field, Batay Ouvriye organizes conferences, debates, information and training sessions, distributes leaflets and didactic materials to the workers in order to make them able to learn and to defend their human and workers' rights.

Presently, Batay Ouvriye is engaged in several legal process, particularly against the BVF company, a Walt Disney's subcontractor in Haïti, and in other struggles for :

1. the respect of the union rights ;
2. the increase of the legal minimum wage ;
3. the decrease or the elimination of the production quotas ;
4. the improving of the working conditions.

   And against

5. the impunity of the employers and the complicity of the Social Affairs Ministry and Labour Ministry ;
6. the despostism of the factory owners and the anti-union repression ;
7. the illegal and arbitrary dismissals and suspensions of workers.