Haiti’s government increased the minimum wage to 54 percent on Monday following weeks of protests from garment workers who say their salaries are not enough when the cost of living continues to rise.
CNN reported that Prime Minister Ariel Henry took to Twitter and provided a detailed breakdown of the wage hike categorized by profession, increasing the wages for workers in the electricity and telecommunications industries.
À compter du lundi 21 février 2022, le salaire minimum devient :
Pour le segment A sept cent soixante-dix gourdes (HTG770,00);
Pour le segment B six cent quinze gourdes (HTG615,00);
Pour le segment C cinq cent quarante gourdes (HTG 540,00).#Haïti— Primature de la République d’Haïti (@PrimatureHT) February 21, 2022
While Haiti’s clothing manufacturing division is solely responsible for transporting finished products to U.S. retailers, the employees received a salary increase. The 37 percent hike boosted their pay to under $7.50 a day, compared to the $15 per day union leaders had initially requested.
The country’s clothing manufacturing has been considered the garment industry leader due to low wages and the minimal gap between U.S. markets.
For years, workers have voiced their opinions about the insufficient pay not being enough to cover essential goods. However, Haiti is more expensive than other countries due to inadequate infrastructure and gang violence.
In November, U.S. members of Congress requested information from 62 American companies that import garments from Haiti on “protections in place for workers employed by their companies and suppliers.”
Though increased wages could help workers in the garment industry, Haitian officials believe they could lose competitiveness with clothing manufacturing sectors in other countries, including their neighboring Dominican Republic.
Last month, Henry dodged an assassination attempt while attending an event acknowledging the 218th anniversary of Haitian independence at a church in the city of Gonaïves. His office stated that armed shooters could not get to him after he and his entourage had escaped, News Onyx reported.
“An attempt has been made against me personally. My life has been put in the crosshairs,” Henry said in an interview with Agence France-Presse on Jan. 3.
Haiti has witnessed an uptick in gang violence since the assassination of Moïse in July 2021.
