Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08SANTODOMINGO55
2008-01-10 22:44:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Santo Domingo
Cable title:  

SCENESETTER FOR DOL DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY

Tags:  ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID DR 
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VZCZCXYZ0020
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDG #0055/01 0102244
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 102244Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
TO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9935
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGT/AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA PRIORITY 0706
RUEHMU/AMEMBASSY MANAGUA PRIORITY 0534
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA PRIORITY 0720
RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE PRIORITY 1057
RUEHSN/AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR PRIORITY 0873
RUEHTG/AMEMBASSY TEGUCIGALPA PRIORITY 0739
UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 000055 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

WHA/CAR CWARD
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FOR DOL/ILAB EMUIRRAGUI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID DR
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR DOL DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY
CHARLOTTE PONTICELLI

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 000055

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

WHA/CAR CWARD
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FOR DOL/ILAB EMUIRRAGUI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID DR
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR DOL DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY
CHARLOTTE PONTICELLI


1. The Dominican Republic has become a reliable supporter of
democracy in the sometimes difficult and always strategic
Caribbean. Our close relationship is exemplified by
Dominican ratification of the CAFTA-DR free trade agreement,
and our friendship is cemented by a history of strong
economic and commercial ties, military and law enforcement
cooperation, and cultural links. The United States is the
country's principal trade partner, with bilateral trade
totaling more than $9 billion annually. From a country of
only 9 million people, one million Dominicans and
Dominican-Americans now live in the United States. The
United States remains the Dominican Republic's principal
catalyst for the institutional reforms needed to assure the
country remains secure, democratic and prosperous.

Child labor and education


2. The law prohibits employment of children younger than 14
and places restrictions on employment of children under age

16. Article 25 of the Labor Code prohibits forced labor,
child prostitution, and child pornography. The government
passed a law this year criminalizing the electronic
dissemination, sale, and/or purchase of child pornography.
Education is free, universal and compulsory through the
eighth grade. Although the Ministry of Education reported a
97 percent enrollment rate, a government study estimated the
average grade level achieved by children in public schools
was the fifth grade in rural areas and sixth grade in the
urban areas. The poor quality of public primary education is
also a significant problem. Recent studies indicate that the
reading, writing and math skills of elementary school
students in the public system are on average two grades
behind children who attend private schools (i.e., a fifth
grader in the public system has skills roughly equivalent to
a third grader in the private school system).


3. While the government effectively enforced child labor
regulations in the formal sector, child labor was largely a

problem in the informal sector. Child labor occurred mostly
in small business, private households and agriculture.


4. The lack of documentation is a serious issue for many
Dominican children. The Central Elections Board (JCE)
estimates that as much as twenty percent of children are not
registered at birth. The law provides for late declarations;
however, there are limitations such as when the parents
themselves are undocumented. Children without documentation
have difficulty accessing primary public education and are
prohibited from attending public secondary schools.

Right of Association


5. The law provides for the freedom to organize labor
unions, and all workers, except the military and the police,
are free to form and join unions of their choice. Organized
labor represented an estimated 8 percent of the work force.
There is an ongoing labor dispute at a Hanesbrands textile
plant in Bonao Province, where there were reports of
antiunion activity. The Dominican Department of Labor (SET)
formed a commission to verify whether the workers had the
majority necessary to secure collective bargaining rights.
The commission ruled that the workers have a majority;
however, Hanes has refused to accept the commission's
findings and is challenging the Government's ruling in court.


6. In the agriculture sector, there were reports that workers
at an agricultural export company in the north of the country
had repeated requests to register their unions turned down,
despite meeting the minimum requirement of 20 members. The
company allegedly went on to make mass dismissals of 80 to
100 people at a time. The workers managed to obtain the legal
registration of the union; however, reports alleged that the
company continued its antiunion campaign and discriminated
openly against union members, who were forced to work
overtime and are refused water and transport in and outside
the fields.

CAFTA-DR Labor Programs


7. The Embassy is working to strengthen labor rights, most
importantly through the US$40 million regional, multi-year

program for FY2006-FY2009 for labor and environment capacity
building in the CAFTA-DR countries. Components of this
program include:

-- Labor Justice System Modernization - $8.94 million;
-- Strengthen Labor Ministry Capacity to Enforce Labor Laws,
Conduct Inspections, and Resolve Labor Disputes - $14.94
million;
-- Reduce Discrimination and Harassment against Women in the
Maquilas - $3.98 million;
-- Benchmarking, Verification, and Monitoring Progress -
$2.98; and
-- Worst Forms of Child Labor - $27 million.


8. In addition to the CAFTA-DR Labor Programs, USAID/DR
initiated in September 2007 a five-year $7.5 million CAFTA-DR
Implementation Project to strengthen the key institutions
involved in the compliance of this free trade agreement. The
key institution in this effort is the Office of Foreign Trade
(DICOEX) in the Secretary of Industry and Commerce (SEIC),
which is the point of contact with USTR on CAFTA-DR matters.
That is, DICOEX oversees the CAFTA-DR trade capacity building
(TCB) effort in all the Dominican institutions involved in
CAFTA-DR compliance, including the Dominican Ministry of
Labor, labor unions, and the private sector.

Ongoing Labor Projects


9. In addition to projects designed to combat the Worst Forms
of Child Labor led by DevTech systems, the following are
ongoing labor related projects in the country.

--Fundapem, an NGO in Costa Rica, runs Cumple y Gana in
several countries including the DR. Cumple y Gana has
allowed the Ministry of Labor (SET) to improve their labor
inspectorate and worker rights education through
www.leylaboral.com.
--Jesuit Refugee Services (SJRM) is providing humanitarian
and legal assistance to migrant workers and families.
--Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI),funded by the U.S.
Department of Labor, is leading CULTIVAR, a project to
promote compliance to local labor laws in the banana and rice
sector.
--USAID is funding Laboral XXI, a labor modernization program
of the Ministry of Labor's information systems.


10. USDOL/ILAB plans to fund a project for workers in the
sugar cane sector in the country. The project dedicates $1
million to address the working conditions, wage and hour
violations, occupational safety and health and deferred
payment for services of sugar cane workers. In addition, the
FY2008 Foreign Ops budget includes a $5 million earmark to
improve socio-economic conditions for residents of bateyes,
communities made up primarily of immigrant workers.
FANNIN