112 Haitian workers who were laid off by a coconut processing plant in the southern Dominican province of San Cristobal last year have won their labor case against Coquera Real. The company had declared bankruptcy and the Haitians camped out at the Ministry of Labor from December 2012 to January 2013 to gain media attention after suing the company for severance pay and back wages. In a March 18 decision, the San Cristobal Civil Appeals Court president Juan Procopio Perez ordered Coquera Real and its owner Rafael Emilio Alonso Luna to pay RD$10 million in back wages and RD$30 million pesos in penalties for “non-payment of benefits over a period of 10 years.” The court also ordered the immediate seizure of Coquera Real’s property to guarantee payment, since the company has declared bankruptcy.??
Dominican labor law protects undocumented immigrants by awarding them the same rights as local workers.
www.acento.com.do/index.php/news/65735/56/Tribunal-falla-a-favor-de-obreros-haitianos-de-la-coquera-de-San-Cristobal.html