PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Over 1,000 factory employees took to the streets Monday in Haiti’s capital city, calling for increased minimum wages as rising tensions in Iran continue to drive fuel costs higher worldwide.
Employees from the government-operated Metropolitan Industrial Park, commonly called Sonapi, assembled at the facility’s entrance in Port-au-Prince, chanting, “When we are hungry, we don’t mess around!”
The workers pointed out they haven’t received any pay increases since 2023, and basic necessities have become unaffordable after Haiti’s administration boosted diesel costs by 37% and gas prices by 29% this month.
“A gallon of gas is higher than our minimum daily wage,” said Marc Jean Jean-Pierre, a 47-year-old father of two children.
Jean-Pierre manufactures denim at a factory, making 685 Haitian gourdes ($5.23) daily, while gasoline now sells for 850 gourdes ($6.49) per gallon.
“You can see what we’re going through,” he said.
Jean-Pierre previously relied on public transit for his commute but now walks an hour each way to save money, as round-trip bus fare has jumped by 100 gourdes (76 cents).
“We will be in the street until the government hears our voice,” he said.
Also participating in Monday’s demonstration was Maxime Excellence, a 49-year-old custodian at the factory, who expressed concern about escalating transportation costs and other expenses.
“On top of it, I have to eat. I can’t spent the whole day not eating,” he said. “God knows what I’m going to have to eat when I get home.”
Excellence described the workers’ requests as reasonable.
“We can barely make ends meet with what we’re living on,” he said.
He vowed to continue demonstrating until their demands are addressed and indicated he would turn to violence if needed.
James Cardichon, a 37-year-old T-shirt manufacturer, shared similar views.
“We need a revolution for them to understand,” he said, noting that workplace conditions also require improvement. “We are leaving our sweat behind.”
Cardichon explained that employees want better compensation so their kids won’t face identical hardships.
“We are tired,” he said. “Our country is infested by gangs. The bus charges more because they have to pay the gangs to get through, and we end up paying for everything.”
Cardichon also expressed frustration with repeated government pledges to address the nation’s problems.
“We are tired of promises,” he said. “We want them to take action, and quickly.”
Several Haitians who joined the demonstration don’t work at the industrial complex but wanted to voice their anger over Haiti’s worsening crises, including escalating gang violence and increasing poverty.
Garry Jean Paul, 35, who sells mobile phones on the street, said climbing oil prices are making the country’s circumstances worse.
“Some days I make a couple hundred of gourdes, some days I have to go home with nothing,” he said. “Families are doing things they are not supposed to be doing. They are begging.”
