Neoliberalism foists criminal misery on Haitian workers

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Neoliberalism in action.

Clothing firm Hanes has moved factories to Haiti to exploit some of the lowest wages in the western hemisphere.  A new report from the Worker Rights Consortium has revealed that three quarters of Haitian garment workers don’t make enough to afford three full meals a day.

WikiLeaks has previously revealed that the company furiously lobbied the U.S. State Department to stop the Caribbean nation from raising its minimum wage to just $5 a day. Even after the garment industry got special carve-outs from the minimum wage, Hanes and its suppliers continued to mercilessly exploit its Haitian workforce.

Factories use dirty tricks to swindle workers out of their wages: forcing workers to work off the clock, refusing to pay overtime, and requiring workers to reach totally unrealistic production quotas to get their full wages.

On average, Haitian garment workers make more than 30% less than what they’re legally owed. Apparel companies are flagrantly breaking the law, but the combination of the garment industry’s bought political influence (corruption – Haze) means that the Haitian government doesn’t hold them accountable.

This is what happens when the state affords no protection for its workers and its the goal of global corporate power.  

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