VZCZCXRO0834
RR RUEHGR RUEHHM RUEHJO RUEHPOD
DE RUEHWN #0146/01 0641520
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051520Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7192
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRIDGETOWN 000146 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ELAB ESSO KHIV PHUM XL
SUBJECT: DOMINICA'S LABOR UNIONS STRUGGLING AMID ECONOMIC 
DOWNTURN 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (SBU)  Dominica,s labor union leaders were surprisingly 
upbeat in recent meetings, believing that Dominica,s 
isolation and small economy with a strong agricultural base 
will limit the impact of the global financial crisis on the 
nation,s economy.  Cruise ship arrivals are holding steady 
at close to 500,000 visitors a year, and the only two 
business-class hotels in Roseau report that occupancy is 
holding steady at 90 percent and they have had no layoffs. 
Eco-tourism hotels are also fully booked, although most of 
them are  small-scale operations.  Despite this guardedly 
optimistic picture, labor unions remain concerned with bread 
and butter issues, including the rapidly rising cost of 
living and the need to form an umbrella labor federation. 
End Summary. 
 
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Public Workers Union Seeking Creative Solutions 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶2. (U) Public Workers Union General Secretary Thomas Letang 
told Laboff that public sector workers are facing sustained 
increases in the cost of living such that their salaries are 
for the most part insufficient to make a decent living.  He 
pointed out that official salaries in Dominica are among the 
lowest in the OECS, noting out that the PM makes 
approximately US$2,400 per month.  Public sector workers have 
a GS-type salary scale with 33 steps plus five senior ranks. 
The lowest paid worker earns officially ECD 1,031 monthly 
(US$381).  The GM said that low salaries play a role in the 
perception that corruption is widespread.  The recently 
created Public Integrity Commission has not accomplished 
much, he said, other than to receive financial disclosure 
forms.  Letang described the forms as largely fictional 
listings of assets. 
 
¶3. (U) The public sector union represents about 2,500 of the 
5,300 public sector workers.  The union engages in labor 
negotiations every three years, with the next round this 
summer.  The last round led to a staggered 8 percent increase 
over a three year period.  The GM doubted that they will be 
able to obtain such a large increase this time due to the 
dire straits of the economy.  He stated that the government 
is suffering from reduced revenues due to a slowing economy 
impacting upon tax revenues. He is looking at creative 
alternatives, particularly improving benefits such as health 
care coverage.  As another example of the creativity shown by 
the Public Sector Union leadership, the GM highlighted that, 
in response to the government privatizing security services, 
the union formed a company to compete for the contract and 
won it.  The guards that used to be government workers now 
work for a private company, owned and operated by the union 
at a profit.  The profits go into the union coffers to help 
defray expenses and help fund social welfare programs. 
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WAWU Looking to Form a Federation 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) One of the distinctive features of the labor landscape 
in Dominica is that there are six independent labor unions, 
each focused on one segment of the labor market, and they 
therefore do not always cooperate on areas of mutual 
interest.  They range in size, influence and ideology, with 
the Workers Union being the largest, most diversified in its 
coverage, and most moderate in its ideology.  All told, about 
50 percent of the labor force is unionized, with almost half 
belonging to the public sector union.  The government remains 
the largest employer.  The Waterfront and Allied Workers 
(WAWU) Union represents the hotels, and financial sector, as 
well as Ross University -- the largest private sector 
employer on the island -- and workers in the port and cruise 
terminal.  In contrast to PSU's Letang, WAWU GM Kerstist 
Augustus stated that Dominica was not doing that badly 
despite the slowing economy, because its economy is still 
agriculturally based with the tourism sector an important but 
not dominant industry as it is in other neighboring 
countries.  Cruise ship arrivals, he said, are holding 
steady, as are overnight visitor numbers.  The hotels have 
not had to lay off any workers.  Construction is doing well, 
with a number of large scale infrastructure projects 
underway.  (Comment:  two of our AMCIT business owners, who 
operate a quarry and a cement plant confirm that construction 
is booming and they are very busy supplying cement to the 
local business community.  End Comment.)   Mr. Augustus said 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000146  002 OF 003 
 
 
he has offered to lead the way to forming a onfederation 
with the other labor unions in Dominca and will be entering 
into negotiations with tem soon.  He, too, like the public 
sector union eaders, is concerned with the rising cost of 
livng and the need to moderate wage demands in upcomig 
negotiations. 
 
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Minimum Wage Up for Renewal 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) The minimum wage, last raised in 998, has been under 
review for some time.  The gvernment has referred the issue 
to the social patnership committee, consisting of labor 
unions, the government labor commissioner and the employers' 
federation.  The committee has not been able to gree on a 
new standard due to opposition from the business community. 
They opposed the proposed increases as too sharp.  The unions 
point out, though, that most workers are already making more 
than the proposed new minimum.  The committee is due to meet 
again and the WAWU GM Augustus believes a new minimum wage is 
likely to be adopted.  The proposed minimum wage would be 
ECD4.00 (US$1.48) for unskilled labor, ECD5.5 (US$3.30) for 
clerks, and ECD5.00 (UD$1.85) for home assistants.  He 
pointed out that due to a shortage of farm workers and other 
unskilled workers, Haitian immigrants are actually being paid 
more than Dominican natives. 
 
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Other Unions Struggling to Stay Relevant 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Other unions, meanwhile, are struggling to remain 
competitive and relevant to their membership.  The National 
Workers Union (NWU) is in particular trouble.  It is the 
oldest union on the island and dates back to the days when 
Banana was the king crop on the island.  Most of their 
workers were banana plantation workers.  Now that there are 
only 900 banana farmers left and the industry has been 
decimated, they have lost most of their membership. 
Significantly, their hard-line Marxist ideology has also 
largely lost it appeal.  Solidarity with the Cuban and 
Venezuelan revolutionary brothers and sisters is not a 
compelling argument for joining the union as it once was, 
according to WAWU GM Augustus.  (Comment: Laboff has met with 
the GM's of each of the unions, and felt that most of the 
unions were pragmatic and interested in working with the 
growing private sector.  The NWU, however, seems stuck in a 
time warp.  The President, Rawlings Jemmont in one memorable 
meeting last fall harangued Laboff, blaming the USG and its 
policies for the collapse of the banana industry and the 
general poverty of Dominica.  He praised Cuba and Venezuelan 
alternatives to US-led imperialism.  End comment.) 
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Comment 
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¶7. (SBU)  The labor movement reflects the underlying social 
and economic trends in the island.  The private sector is 
beginning to emerge with significant incoming foreign direct 
investment, particularly the arrival of MRB (the U.S. parent 
company that also owns DOMLEC the electric company) to take 
over the defunct cable television company, and the start-up 
of a call center operated by Alpharetta, Georgia-based Clear 
Harbor, which already is rivaling (American-owned) Ross 
University in terms of employment.  They provide over 300 
jobs in Dominica alone, and have operations in Grenada and 
Nevis and are  looking at expanding into St Lucia.  The 
older, hard line Marxist-oriented labor unions are having a 
hard time attracting members, while the more market-oriented 
pragmatic unions like the Allied Workers or the Public Sector 
Unions are gaining influence.  One would predict that a true 
labor confederation will emerge in the near future as a means 
of stabilizing union influence in  Dominica.  The days when 
Banana was King and the Marxist NWU was powerful are long 
gone. 
 
¶8. (U) In a side meeting, Julian Johnson, the head of 
Dominica's new Public Integrity Commission said that the 
Commission would greatly appreciate the opportunity to go to 
DC and at least one other state to meet with agencies 
involved in public corruption investigations.  He 
acknowledged that the financial disclosure forms currently 
being submitted by local public figures are probably highly 
inaccurate.  Until such time as the commission can learn how 
to interpret financial forms for evidence of misreporting, it 
is unlikely that government officials will take the exercise 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000146  003 OF 003 
 
 
seriously.  Post is following up to try to arrange a VVP or 
other appropriate training opportunities, including possible 
training programs that might bring trainers down to Dominica. 
 We also are looking at possible training programs 
coordinated with the State Partnership Program and have asked 
FAVACA, the Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the 
Caribbean and Americas, Florida's state version of the Peace 
Corps, for assistance as well. 
HARDT