Update on Haitian Minimum Wage Struggles

The Preval administration proposed a gradual adjustment of the minimum wage that will start at 125 Gourdes. This proposal is illegal by the Haitian law which requires essentially a living wage, since it doesn’t take into account inflation. It is stated clearly in the – still reactionary- Labor Code that the adjustment must be based on inflation. This proposal intends to violate it from the get go.

Solidaridad con Perù

Aproximadamente veinte personas se reunieron en la embajada peruana para protestar el masacre de personas indígenas que están defendiendo sus comunidades y tierra contra los intereses capitalistas y el gobierno Peruano. Los manifestantes sujetaron pancartas, cantaron, y tocaron tambores para peatones y carros pasando por el área. El propósito de la manifestación era aumentar conciencia sobre las luchas en Perú y presionar al gobierno que pare la represión y que reconozca las demandas de las comunidades indígenas. Un grupo de activistas entraron a la embajada y presentaron una carta con sus demandas. También habían periodistas de los periódicos Miami New Times y El Nuevo Herald para cubrir la protesta.

Report back on Peru Solidarity Action

Approximately 20 people gathered at the Peruvian embassy to protest the slaughter of native peoples defending their communities and land from encroaching capitalists interests acting in unity with the Peruvian government. Protesters held signs, sang, and played drums for pedestrians and cars passing by to raise awareness of the struggles in Peru and pressure the government to end the repression, and concede to the demands of native communities. A group of protesters entered the embassy and presented a letter of concerns and demands to the embassy alongside with a reporter from the Miami New Times. A reporter from the El Nuevo Herald also came and covered the protest.

Haitian Minimum Wage Struggles: A Call to Action

For the past five years, combative working class movements have been demanding minimum wage adjustments and hikes. The working class in Haiti is faced daily with the wrath of bourgeois repression. Workers rights to organize and to bargain collectively are constantly being denied and repressed. For the past 10 years, the minimum in Haiti has fluctuated between 15¢ and 30¢ an hour, while the cost of most goods is roughly comparable to their cost in the US. According to a recent Worker Rights Consortium study, a working class family of one working member and two dependents needs at least 550.00 gourdes per day to meet normal living expenses. The current minimum wage in Haiti is only 70 gourdes ($1.75) per day and was last adjusted in 2003. In May of this year, the Haitian Parliament passed a law merely adjusting the minimum wage to 200 gourdes per day ($.62 an hour), still a slave wage. All that is needed for this law to be enacted is for President Preval to sign it, and publish it in the official newspaper Le Moniteur. After more than three weeks of delay, the Préval administration, in step with the Haitian bourgeoisie and imperialism, not only objected to the new law, but also made a counter proposal of 125.00 gourdes.