Labor Minister Ramon (Monchy) Fadul said yesterday that it has been agreed that only Haitian cane cutters under contract will be allowed this year. The contract will be in Spanish and Creole, and will establish the salary, living and other conditions guaranteed to the worker. The contract also stipulates that once the harvest is over, the Haitians will be returned to their native country. Historically, Haitians come over to cut cane, last one season, and then make their way into better-paying jobs such as in construction. Few return.
Fadul, interviewed at the Presidential Palace, told reporters that several of the sugar mills had approached him about the hiring of Haitian cutters for this year’s crop. The Labor minister said that the decision to bring Haitian cane cutters under contract for this year’s harvest comes on the heels of the announcement in the United States that increased the Dominican sugar quota by 46,000 tons. Hoy newspaper reports that the Ministry of Public Health will carry out health inspections of the Haitians that are contracted.