VICTORY IN THE STRUGGLE FOR THE REINSTATEMENT OF THE SOKOWA WORKERS ! BUT VIGILENCE AND MOBILIZATION ARE STILL IN ORDER!
Mobilization of the workers still present at the Codevi factory ; interventions (towards the factory workers in general, those in difficulty; the union and its committee, the Ouanaminthe population, national and international press, groups in solidarity and the public in general, the Haitian government…); permanent orientation of Batay Ouvriye; active solidarity (letters, presence in the field and, at times, within the very negotiations, debates, financial support…), as well from local union federations (OGITH) and foreign ones (ACILS, FEDOTRAZONA…) and from support organizations (Batay Ouvriye Solidarity Network, Haïti Support Group, Réseau-Solidarité – Peuples Solidaires, WRC, Maquila Solidarity Network, Clean Clothes Campaign…) have allowed, finally, the reinstatement of the workers that Codevi’s management in the Ouanaminthe free trade zone, in the North-East of Haiti, was trying to illegally fire.
After arduous final negotiations on Tuesday April 13, 2004, in the presence not only of all the parties directly concerned (the Sokowa union and Batay Ouvriye, on one hand, Codevi, the World Bank and Levi-Strauss, on the other) accompanied by those who concretely participated in the struggle process (WRC, …), but also a tripartite delegation (the Social Affairs and Labor Ministry, the Labor Sector, the Association of Haitian Industrialists, ADIH), management finally decided, thus, to reinstate the following day, April 14th, all of the workers in conflict, to pay for the continuation of medical services of the one who had been most severely beaten and still suffers from various pains, to pay all the time they spent outside according to the present minimum salary, to concretely recognize union rights within the factory and, finally, to immediately engage negotiations with a union delegation to discuss the workers general demands.
It is amidst cries of joy from all of their colleagues, heated applauds and ardent embraces that the workers walked into the factory right after the negotiations. Before these effusions and fearing excesses, management even felt it necessary to read out, on the loudspeaker, its respect for union rights. That which provoked even greater enthusiasm!
A concrete victory, therefore, has been obtained. Not only for the workers in conflict, but also for all those in the factory; not only for them, but also for all those who will be later called to work there; not only for this future group but also for those who will be called to defend their rights in free trade zone territories throughout Haiti, as well as in the rest of dominated countries and in the whole world. This first victory in the first confrontation in this first Haitian free trade zone thus marks an important point in the working classes’ struggle internationally, especially when one considers international solidarity’s vital support. It is thus a victory for us all. But this success becomes even more fundamental when we consider that it was the determination of the workers themselves, in the field, and their own independent struggle that was the true motor of the entire mobilization.
Nothing, however, is totally guaranteed, management having sought, the very next day, to avoid materializing the agreements established the day before. Immediately, various tricks starting concerning the workers’ badges (management tried to give them new ones - which would cause them to lose their seniority and, with this new status of temporaries, restrain their movements within the factory, as well as jeopardize their job security). After that, certain workers were placed in waiting in an unexplainable manner, others were placed in different positions… Up to present, eight workers spend their day sitting in the Training Center, waiting for a work post. Will they be paid for these management delays?
But there’s worse: open threats were clearly and deliberately made not only against certain Batay Ouvriye organizers responsible for the coordination and orientation of the mobilization and negotiations, but also against representatives of support organizations. Furthermore, it is important to note, from the beginning of the conflict and until presently, the presence of one of the company’s most repressive “security” heads, Alex Corona. Let us recall that according to a recent report from the IFCTU, this security head personally beat a union worker with his colt .45 in the Dominican Republic! As this report indicated quite clearly: “… the company pays for this kind of activities… there is a group of 20 people, within the free trade zone itself…”
The mobilization is thus still active and the struggle has just begun!