Haitian victory (Bretton Woods Project)

Haitian victory

Thirty-four union members at a free-trade zone plant financed by the IFC - laid off for over six weeks - were reinstated on 14 April. Management further agreed to provide medical treatment to those who were beaten; to pay back-salaries for the time of the dispute; and to recognise the right to unionise inside the factory. The layoffs vindicated fears of labour and NGO monitors who had pushed the IFC into commissioning an independent investigation into prior alleged labour violations against the plant's owners, Grupo M.

IFC Haiti project funding goes ahead despite investigation’s "mixed results" News|Bretton Woods Project|3 February 2004|update 38|url
The IFC committed $20 million to an industrial park in a Haitian free trade zone on 15 January, after an independent investigator found that "the project deserves continued strong support given its development impact, even if some wrongdoing was demonstrated." read article...
Haitian jobs hang in the balance in IFC-funded plant News|Bretton Woods Project|26 July 2004|update 41|url
The International Finance Corporation, the Bank's private-sector arm, has brought in labour mediators in an attempt to resolve a dispute that threatens to leave hundreds of employees at an IFC-funded plant in Haiti without work. read article...