VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDG #0715/01 1771859
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 261859Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2926
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHWN/AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PRIORITY 2256
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 1008
RUEHGE/AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN PRIORITY 1164
RUEHKG/AMEMBASSY KINGSTON PRIORITY 2955
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JUN 0597
RUEHPO/AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO PRIORITY 1288
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE PRIORITY 5014
RUEHSP/AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN PRIORITY 1995
RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA PRIORITY 0276

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 000715 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR, 
LA PAZ FOR A/DCM C LAMBERT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PGOV PHUM PREF ECON ETRD DR
SUBJECT: ASSESSING LABOR AFTER TWO YEARS OF CAFTA-DR 
 
REF: A. 08 SDO 884 
     ¶B. SDO 297 
     ¶C. SDO 706 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: During the two years following the entry 
into force of CAFTA-DR, the GODR has made several advances 
towards meeting its White Paper goals, but nearly all of the 
major problems noted a year ago remain.  While progress has 
not always been smooth, and significant problems remain, the 
current Labor Ministry seems ready, even eager, to focus 
resources on continued improvements in labor conditions. 
Labor inspections are improving and both workers associations 
and child labor elimination projects are advancing well. 
Significant room for improvement remains, however, in the 
areas of labor union strength, defining child labor, written 
labor contracts, health and safety, and discrimination.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Following several meetings with NGOs, labor unions 
and the Ministry of Labor (SET), Post reports on the current 
challenges and successes of various projects and policy goals 
in the two years since CAFTA-DR entered into force. 
CAFTA-DR's effects have been significant and the SET recently 
commented that nearly all labor advances since the new 
administration took over (August 2008) are directly related 
to CAFTA-DR goals and USG-funded support and projects. 
 
Advances 
-------- 
 
¶3. (U) The GODR has increased the SET's budget to conduct 
inspections, and that increased budget has seen nearly 
immediate implementation.  The increase covers both 
responsive and preventative inspections and allows for more 
inspections of batey (sugarcane) workers.  Early 
implementation of these increased inspections led to 5,781 
more inspections in 2008 than in 2007 when the SET conducted 
79,484 inspections.  Although the SET had been conducting 
inspections in the privately-owned bateyes prior to the 
increased budget, they did not have the means to monitor the 
state-owned bateyes spread throughout the country with no 
single employer.  In early May, the SET began a program for 
inspections in the San Pedro area state-owned bateyes that 
are currently managed informally by private individuals.  The 
inspectors met with the private managers to advise them of 
their responsibilities under the Labor Code and to notify 
them that they will be receiving random inspections to ensure 
that they are complying with labor laws.  The SET also held a 
Labor Forum in May to promote dialogue on several issues, 
such as gender discrimination, migrant labor and workplace 
health and safety. 
 
¶4. (U) Several USG-funded projects have also achieved 
significant success in the past year.  "Comply and Win," a 
regional CAFTA-DR program is working well with the SET to 
increase inspection capacity and effectiveness.  Project 
"Cultivar" has moved from their initial work in bananas to 
sugar and has been targeting efforts in the Sugar Consortium 
of Industrial Companies (CAEI) bateyes as well as working 
with SET inspectors to improve inspections.  "Cultivar" has 
also been working with the SET to produce and distribute 
temporary labor resident cards.  "Everyone Works," another 
CAFTA-DR program, has set up labor and legal rights clinics 
that have already provided legal assistance to 1,681 
individuals and has brought 1,383 legal cases to conclusion. 
These are just a few of the many USG-funded projects that are 
focused on labor law training, distributing information on 
labor rights, developing strong worker organizations, and 
several other vectors to bring about positive changes in 
labor practices as outlined in the White Paper goals. 
 
¶5. (U) Workers associations have seen advances, but there are 
several continuing problems (see paragraph 7).  The workers 
association at TOS Dominicana, a factory owned by Hanesbrand, 
finally achieved a strong collective bargaining agreement and 
issues between Hanesbrand and the factory workers have 
generally calmed down.  Unfortunately, since that time, the 
union leader left the factory following threats of a 
for-cause termination due to alleged disciplinary 
infractions.  The USG-funded Solidarity Center has made good 
inroads with labor associations in the informal sector, which 
ranges from 50-70 percent of the overall labor force.  The 
Solidarity Center has been working with a large segment of 
that informal sector -- domestic servants and street vendors 
-- to form worker unions. 
 
¶6. (U) A USDOL-funded project to eliminate child labor is 
closing out its second stage this year and expects to exceed 
substantially its goal of preventing 5,100 children from 
entering or continuing with the worst forms of child labor. 
Also this year, for the first time, President Fernandez 
announced his intention to eradicate the worst forms of child 
labor and that he would be increasing the education budget by 
4.9 billion pesos (136.68 million USD) specifically to update 
classrooms.  During the SET's Labor Forum in May, although 
they did not hold a panel on eliminating child labor, child 
labor was raised during the opening event and during the 
panel discussion on migrant workers.  The SET has also 
designated a vice-minister of labor to work on eliminating 
child labor. 
 
Continuing Challenges 
--------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) The advances seen in labor unions have not eliminated 
the continuing problems.  Union leaders claim that SET 
inspectors are quick to respond to employers, but do not 
speak with the employees when they arrive to investigate both 
sides of the issue.  Unions also complain that the inspectors 
lack training and often do not know what violations are.  The 
SET needs to provide additional training for its inspectors 
to ensure that they are well versed on labor violations.  The 
Solidarity Center also noted that although the Groupo M 
collective bargaining agreement is often held up as a sign 
that these agreements are achievable, that the agreement was 
signed only after seven years of hard work.  Call centers, 
which are frequently seen as the driving force for the future 
Dominican economy, have yet to have a single union certified. 
 Those working in the field claim that several call center 
employers are firing their employees within three months 
after hiring them so that the basic labor rights do not have 
a chance to take effect.  While the employers argue that the 
employees are primarily students and are leaving of their own 
will after this short time, Feingold questions this rationale 
due to the fact that other jobs (especially good-paying jobs 
like those found in call centers) are hard to find. 
 
¶8. (U) Child labor remains a significant problem in several 
sectors, but most notably in agriculture and domestic work. 
The public pays little attention to these sectors and 
generally does not object to underage labor in these jobs. 
Attention seems to be directed more to what the child seems 
capable of doing and not to legal requirements, or as one 
worker stated to POLOFF during a recent agricultural site 
visit, "He's not a child.  Look at him!"  The fact that most 
schools provide about two and a half hours of class time per 
day only adds to the problem as the students are either 
turned out into the streets or put to work.  Several NGOs 
have also noted the presence of child labor in the mining of 
larimar, a semi-precious indigenous gemstone.  The GODR needs 
to promote more information on child labor, especially 
regarding the laws on legal ages to do different types of 
work. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Written contracts are still hard to find.  Under the 
Dominican Labor Code, both written and verbal contracts are 
binding and there is no "at will" employment.  The Code 
provides legal contractual benefits after three months of 
continuous work based upon paystubs without the existence of 
a written contract.  Andres Marranzini, a SET vice-minister, 
noted that written contracts are almost non-existent, and 
that he has never had a contract for any job he has held in 
the DR.  He questions the need for written contracts at all. 
Despite this position generally held by the SET, a labor 
court in San Pedro de Macorix found in favor of 500 Haitian 
migrant workers who sought written contracts and benefits 
from their employer (ref B).  This case is currently on 
appeal.  Problems with pay deductions have lessened, but a 
persistent problem is that workers that cannot claim public 
benefits such as pension or health care without 
documentation.  One of the large sugar consortiums, CAEI, has 
ceased deducting for social security, but at last report, the 
other sugar companies continue to make deductions. 
 
¶10. (U) It appears that workplace health and safety issues 
have not improved in the past year (i.e. since last reported 
in reftel A) with limited health and safety measures 
implemented in the workplace. 
 
¶11. (U) Discrimination likewise has not seen significant 
advances in the past year, but the SET is making an active 
effort to at least confront the problem.  As part of their 
labor forum in May, the SET hosted discussions on gender 
issues and migrant labor in sugar production (read 
"Haitians").  The forum on gender discrimination was open to 
a public audience and confronted issues such as pay gaps 
between the sexes and mandatory pregnancy tests for 
employment.  While resolutions for these problems remain 
elusive, at least the SET seems focused on working to remedy 
these gender biases.  The panel on migrant labor was closed 
to invitees, but brought together the three major sugar 
producers, several NGOs and some of the labor unions working 
in sugar production.  The panel was primarily about sharing 
information on current practices and provided attendees with 
more information on labor practices in sugar production than 
had previously been discoverable.  Nationally, a 
regularization effort for undocumented residents is underway 
(ref C). 
 
(U) Please visit us at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/  
BULLEN