Dominican Republic: Is Fairtrade working?
The article, using information gained from the Ecologist, claimed that, despite Fairtrade now accounting for a quarter of the bananas now produced in the Dominican Republic, the workers – particularly those of Haitian origin – are still living in abject poverty. The report stated "Despite this progress (Fairtrade), the industry [seen] in the country was still one reliant on a migrant workforce paid poverty wages, living in slums and with no legal status."
Fairtrade International, in a bid to clarify its own stance on the matter, has released a statement which, for this particular aspect of the argument at least, is in agreement with the Guardian:
"Haitian migrant workers in the Dominican Republic will remain in a precarious situation so long as their rights – especially their legal status – are not protected by national law."
However, Fairtrade is keen to stress that the debate should not be about a perceived failure of the Fairtrade movement, but broadened out to address the wider context in the country saying "Fairtrade Standards and certification alone cannot adequately protect the rights of workers where government law fails to do so...this debate should not just focus on a critique of Fairtrade’s own efforts to date, but galvanize industry, civil society and the media to join us in requesting greater legal protection for Haitian migrant workers in the Dominican Republic."
The newspaper backed up its arguments by making reference to the Dominican trade union movement, representatives of which have stated that the Fairtrade initiative does not go far enough. Lucian Robles, of the trade union, Autonomous Federation, said of Fairtrade, "There is no doubt they are improving international trade, but it isn’t helping migrant workers to get a better salary."
As a result of such claims the Fairtrade system has, via its statement, sought to highlight its claim that there has been progression for workers on Fairtrade plantations and that their work has contributed to this and In contrast, an independent impact assessment of Fairtrade bananas by the Institute of Development Studies has pointed to other improvements in working conditions on certified plantations, including paid overtime and annual leave, which are currently not the norm in the wider industry.
For one thing that article makes mention of the fact that the workers, as non-nationals, have no access to social security. Whilst this is true the Fairtrade Foundation has pointed out that Fairtrade employers are obliged to provide their employees with private health insurance.
The crux of the paper's argument, however, is that it is nigh on impossible for workers to change their situation, as accessing a passport is bureaucratic and very expensive and once achieved, does not constitute a working visa or residency status, without which migrant workers are still considered to be working illegally.
One of the main reasons for this, aside from the fact that many of the workers do not have the paperwork required for making an application, is that passports are very expensive. The cost is around 8,800 pesos –equivalent to around 6 weeks wages for a banana worker. The wages most workers receive is barely enough for workers and their families to survive on, leaving no opportunity to save for a passport.
The Guardian article focused on the fact that many of the workers involved in the industry were not legally resident in the country. This is because it can be very difficult to achieve legal working status . The article gives examples of people who have been working in the country sometimes for years, who have still been unable to gain a passport.
It is as Padre Regino Martinez, director of Asomilin (Solidarity Association of Migrant Workers in the Northwest Region), is quoted as saying in the article, "They don't have enough to cover the costs of living. And have no way of getting a higher salary to rent a home or buy a visa or passport."
The Fairtrade Foundation, however, explains that it is under Fairtrade - and only under Fairtrade -that employers are obliged to provide any support towards the workers' applications. This can not always stretch to include financial support, though in some cases this does take place, as there are constraints on the businesses involved as well as on the workers. Barbara Crowther, Director of Communications and Policy at the Fairtrade Foundation said, "Many of the farmers for whom Haitian migrant workers are working are small scale banana growers who may only use occasional labour on harvest and packing days. These farmers are often struggling to make a decent livelihood themselves, and may not be able to afford to pay significantly above the going rate in the area. It is common therefore for Haitian migrants to work for many different small farms on different days, and so no one individual grower may see themselves as being the person responsible for improving the Haitian migrants' status - it is only through collective action that solutions can be found, as well as requiring action at government level."
Again, the Foundation is here making clear its stance that the issue is a wider one that requires collective action. As Barbara herself says, "In order to have any hope of seeing not just minimum, but living, wages for small farmers and workers in the banana sector, the industry as a whole needs to reverse the progressive stripping of value from supply chains, and put an end to the unsustainable retail pricing wars that have seen the average price of a kilo of bananas almost halve in the last few years."
Both the Guardian and the Fairtrade Foundation are also agreed on the fact that the issue is now reaching a critical point. As the Fairtrade statement says, "The time is more urgent than ever, on the eve of new regulations that could mean the forcible deportation of thousands of Haitian migrant workers without legal status."
The new regulations the statement mentions had meant that all companies in the Dominican Republic were forced to have a workforce made up of 80% Dominicans – a situation that could potentially put the whole banana industry – heavily dependent upon migrant labour – in jeopardy. The launch of the new visa process means that the Government of the Dominican Republic has actually stepped back from strict enforcement of the 80:20 employment policy, but will still require employers to progressively increase the number of national workers.
There is some good news on this front however, As of last week a process of legalisation of migrant workers has been introduced, and the first visas to be issued have been to workers on a Fairtrade plantation. This should at least ensure that there are no mass expulsions of Haitian workers. Anyone who is going through the processes of legalising their residency has been assured they will be given time to complete their application. It may take a while, but is at least a sign that things are moving in a positive direction and that the work of the Fairtrade project is not in vain.