LABOR GROUP SAYS HAITI’S FACTORIES ARE UNSAFE
— Oct. 16, 2013 6:39 PM EDT
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FILE – In this Jan. 11, 2012 file photo, Renel Prophete, 33, works on a pair of boat shoes at a local clothing and shoe factory, Caracol Industrial Park, during a visit by former U.S. President Bill Clinton in Ouanaminthe, on the outskirts of Cap Haitien, Haiti. A labor rights group is accusing clothing manufacturers in Haiti of frequently cheating workers out of their meager wages. The U.S.-based Worker Rights Consortium says in a report that workers receive an average of 32 percent less than what they should. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery, File)
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s garment factories are unsafe for their workers, often lacking marked fire exits, safe drinking water and sufficient toilets, a labor group said Wednesday.
A study by the Geneva-based Better Work organization looked at working conditions in 23 Haitian factories from May to August. It found 13 workplaces were not sufficiently lighted, and 11 failed to clearly mark emergency exits and escape routes. Eleven factories did not have adequate fire-fighting equipment.
It also found that 21 did not have the legally required number of toilets, and the same number didn’t have onsite medical facilities and staff.
Henri-Claude Muller-Poitevien, president of a government commission that oversees Haiti’s assembly plants, said he welcomed the survey by the labor compliance group, which is supported by the International Labor Organization and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation. Read More
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