Carlos Amarante Baret, general director of the Migration Department, said yesterday in Santiago that the Dominican authorities plan to regulate the use of illegal Haitian labor in farming, construction work and other sectors. He said the government would begin to impose fines on businesses that employ undocumented workers. He was speaking at a press conference in Santiago, and was accompanied by construction union leaders and neighborhood groups that are backing the initiative. Amarante said that the pressure of illegal migration from Haiti is affecting job opportunities for Dominicans. He said that every year over 100,000 Dominicans enter the labor market and cannot find jobs because of the unfair competition of cheap labor from Haiti. “It should not be the case that foreigners make up 95% of the labor force in farms and construction industry,” he said.
He said that the abundance of Haitian labor leads to ruthless exploitation, because these workers accept lower wages for the same work, and do not demand social security or legal labor rights.
He said that the Dominican Labor Code stipulates that 80% of the labor employed by companies needs to be Dominican, leaving only 20% for the contracting of foreigners.
“We are saying this publicly so that it cannot be said that the Department of Migration is abusing its power, acting against production, and serving certain interests that often find defenders,” he insisted, as reported in the Listin Diario.
He said that the revised Migration Law includes penalties that he said would start to be applied to undocumented labor in the country, whether dark- skinned or blue-eyed.