A newly released book, Condition and Contributions of the Workforce of Haitian Origin to the Dominican Economy says that Haitians now make up 13% of the total workforce. Based on statistics for 2010-2012, the book reveals that Haitians made up 64.35% of the workforce in the agricultural sector. The book was published by the Center for Agrarian Training and Social Action (Centro de Formacion y Accion Social y Agraria/Cefasa) and Economic, Financial and Organizational Consultants (Consultores Economicos Financieros y Organizacionales/Cefinosa) with the backing of the Compania de Jesus, the Jesuits. The research downplays the high social cost of Haitian immigration by focusing on the significant contributions that Haitian labor makes to the GDP in the Dominican Republic. Haitian labor has replaced Dominican labor in many areas, especially in tourism construction and the farming sector. Haitian labor has almost completely displaced Dominican labor in tourism construction because impoverished immigrants accept basic living conditions that would not be acceptable to their Dominican counterparts. In conclusion, the authors say that the research shows that the country’s underdevelopment is not the result of the high social cost of immigration by destitute Haitians. It calculates that the illegal workers could instead be contributing RD$2 billion if their status were regularized and entered into the social security system. It estimates Haitian sugar cane, rice, banana, coffee and construction workers receive upwards of RD$7.3 billion in monthly wages. They say that the failure to regularize the status of the immigrants reflects the government’s lack of political will and inefficiency. The authors say if their status were regularized they would contribute to the social costs and that the government needs to regularize the presence of thousands of illegal Haitian workers “who will not leave and are needed by many sectors of the Dominican economy.” It makes the point that mechanisms need to be realistic, and practical solutions must be found for the Haitian immigrants’ lack of identification documents and the cost of obtaining them under the present system. Most Haitians in Haiti do not have identification documents. The authors of the study call for the use of biometric identity methods to identify each immigrant and for ID documents to be issued based on this information. It also recommends the introduction of a work visa scheme by the Ministry of Foreign Relations.
The study also calls for border control mechanisms to be strengthened and states that given the scale of the migration, access needs to be better controlled. The report concludes that formalizing the now illegal Haitian workforce would strengthen the country’s social security system finances and the government would be protecting the country’s most vulnerable population, mitigating a social problem with unpredictable consequences for the country.
It also calls for the Dominican Republic to encourage the international community to implement more aid programs aimed at tackling social, economic and environmental problems in Haiti, in order to mitigate extreme poverty and contribute to reducing migration to the Dominican Republic.
For the research, Cefindosa polled 342 Haitian workers all around the country between October 2011 and February 2012.
www.elcaribe.com.do/2013/03/02/haitianos-representan-13-fuerza-laboral-pais