The Support Group for Returnees and Refugees (GARR) denounces the difficult situation and the very precarious working conditions in which Haitian workers are subjected in the Dominican Republic.

Being for a large majority in an irregular migratory situation, Haitians are frequently victims of exploitation and abuse both from business owners and from the authorities.

According to data from the National Institute of Migration of the Dominican Republic (INM) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Haitian migrants in 2020, represent 28% of workers in the agricultural sector and 29% in the construction sector.

Haitians hold many jobs that Dominicans refuse to do because they are too physically demanding, especially in the agriculture and construction sectors.

In addition, Haitians in an irregular migration situation work without a contract and without social benefits. In the construction sector, employers offer them a salary of 500 pesos per day, or nearly 1,000 gourdes (paying less well than the salary in the agricultural sector) and half as much as a Dominican worker. Although they know they are exploited because of their illegality, despite the discriminatory treatment and humiliation based on the color of their skin, the long working days beyond the statutory time, Haitian men or women accommodate these works because they know that in Haiti there is no work and the official salaries are much lower than an illegal salary in the Dominican Republic...

Every day Haitians try to enter the Dominican territory illegally in search of work, despite the tightening of migration rules since President Luis Abinader took power in 2020 and the strengthening of border controls "Haitians who come to the Dominican Republic must come with a work permit and comply with the law, and after completing this work, they must return to their country," said Abinader following his inauguration, stressing that Haitian workers who do not respect this law will be repatriated to Haiti.

S/ HaitiLibre