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Article

16 Jul 2015

Author:
Amy Bracken, Al Jazeera America

Blood, sweat and sugar: Trade deal fails Haitian workers on DR plantations

…The [Dominic Rep.] is…among the top suppliers [of sugar] to American markets…[T]he DR-CAFTA…was supposed to improve…worker conditions. But today Haitian immigrants [are] still targets of…antihaitianismo…Workers are paid by the weight of what they cut, which means older and sicker people earn less…Even when workers are injured on the job, their medical leave might not be covered…CAEI [owned by Grupo Vicini] recently implemented changes…such as posting the minimum wage on signs in bateys, verifying work hours, and providing safety equipment and drinking water…. [The US Department of Labor] is accused by some researchers of having an overly broad definition of forced labor and of exaggerating the prevalence of child labor…[Christopher Hartley]…points to the owners of Central Romana, whom he calls “the most resistant to any kind of change” for their thousands of workers…