RESEARCH ON INDICATORS OF FORCED LABOR in the Supply Chain of Sugar in the Dominican Republic Funding for this report was provided by the United States Department of Labor under grant number IL177760875K. Points of view or opinions in this report do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the United States Government. Table of Contents ABBREVIATIONS AND GLOSSARY 4 Abbreviations 4 Glossary 5 INTRODUCTION 7 Objectives 7 Context 8 Research Methodology and Limitations 8 Main Findings 9 BACKGROUND & SETTING 9 Place 9 People 10 Product 13 Sugar Production and Supply Chain 13 Sugar Producers 17 Recent Reports on Forced Labor in the Dominican Sugar Sector (2000-present) 18 Policies and Programs 20 METHODOLOGY & LIMITATIONS 23 Research Timing 24 Location 25 Qualitative Data Gathering 25 Preparatory Phase and Rapid Appraisals 25 In-depth Interviews and Focus Groups 26 Quantitative Data Gathering 27 Survey Instrument 28 Design and Sample Size 29 Data Processing and Analysis 32 Limitations 33 WORKER DEMOGRAPHICS 34 Concepts and Methodology 34 Age and Nationality 35 Personal Identity Documents 35 Family Situation 35 Level of Education, Literacy, and Mastery of Spanish 36 Place of Origin and Employment in Haiti 36 Links with Haiti 37 Last Year of Entry into the Dominican Republic 38 Point of Entry into the Dominican Republic 38 Transportation Over the Border into the Dominican Republic 38 Transportation within the Dominican Republic 39 Living Situation in the Dominican Republic 40 New and Seasonal Migrants 42 PRESENCE OF INDICATORS OF FORCED LABOR 44 Lack of Consent to (Involuntary Nature of) Work (the “Route Into” Forced Labor) 45 Birth/descent into “Slave” or Bonded Status 45 Physical Abduction or Kidnapping 45 Sale of Person into the Ownership of Another 45 Physical Confinement in the Work Location 45 Psychological Compulsion (Order to Work, Backed up by a Credible Threat of a Penalty for Non-Compliance) 48 P a g e | 2 Induced Indebtedness (by Falsification of Accounts, Inflated Prices, Reduced Value of Goods or Services Produced, Excessive Interest Charges, etc.) 54 Deception or False Promises About Types and Terms of Work 58 Withholding and Non-Payment of Wages 61 Retention of Identity Documents or Other Valuable Personal Possessions 61 Menace of a Penalty (the Means of Keeping Someone in Forced Labor) 62 General 62 Physical Violence Against Worker or Family or Close Associates 63 Sexual Violence 63 Imprisonment or Other Physical Confinement 63 Financial Penalties 63 Denunciation to Authorities (Police, Immigration, etc.) and Deportation 63 Dismissal from Current Employment 64 Exclusion from Future Employment 64 Exclusion from Community and Social Life 64 Removal of Rights or Privileges 64 Deprivation of Food, Shelter or Other Necessities 65 Shift to Even Worse Working Conditions 65 Loss of Social Status 65 Wages and Hours 65 Wages 65 Working Hours 71 OTHER ISSUES OF CONCERN 72 Benefits 72 Health and Safety 74 Discrimination 75 Living Conditions 76 Housing 76 Electricity 76 Drinking Water 77 Sanitary Services 77 Food 77 Transport 78 Child Labor 78 Worker Satisfaction 79 CONCLUSIONS 79 Main Findings 80 Risk Factors 80 Lessons Learned 81 APPENDIX 1: HAITIAN MIGRATION TO THE DOMINICAN SUGAR SECTOR 82 APPENDIX 2: LEGAL FRAMEWORK 85 APPENDIX 3: HISTORY OF THE SUGAR SECTOR 94 APPENDIX 4: SUGAR PRODUCERS 99 APPENDIX 5: REPORTS ON FORCED LABOR IN THE SUGAR SECTOR 107 APPENDIX 6: FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW GUIDE 121 APPENDIX 7: QUESTIONNAIRE 122 APPENDIX 8: PRESENCE OF ILO INDICATORS OF FORCED LABOR 135 APPENDIX 9: TABLE OF INDICATORS 142 APPENDIX 10: BIBLIOGRAPHY 148 ENDNOTES 162 P a g e | 3 Abbreviations and Glossary Abbreviations BCDR - Banco Central de la República Dominicana (Central Bank of the Dominican Republic) CAC - Consorcio Azucarero Central (Central Sugar Consortium) CAEI - Consorcio Azucarero de Empresas Industriales (Industrial Sugar Consortium) CR - Central Romana Corporation Ltd. CEA - Consejo Estatal Del Azúcar (State Sugar Council) CEACR - Commission of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations CESFRONT - Cuerpo Especializado en Seguridad Fronteriza Terrestre (Specialized Body on Land Border Security) CDL - Centro de Derechos Laborales (Center for Labor Rights) CNSS - Consejo Nacional de Seguridad Social (National Social Security Council) CNUS - Confederación Nacional de Unidad Sindical (National Confederation of Unions) CNM - Consejo Nacional de Migración (National Migration Council) DR-CAFTA - Dominican Republic – Central America Free Trade Agreement DUDH - Universal Declaration of Human Rights EAP - (Economically Active Population) EU - European Union FECARE - Federación de Colonos de Azucareros de la Región Este (Federation of Sugar Colonos of the Eastern Region) FEDOCA - Federación Dominicana de Colonos Azucareros (Dominican Federation of Sugar Colonos) FLACSO - Facultad Latinoamericana de Sciencias Sociales (Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences) P a g e | 4 GARR - Groupe d'Appui Aux Rapatriés Et Réfugiés (Support Group for Returnees and Refugees) G.O. - Gaceta Oficial (Official Gazette) HRW - Human Rights Watch IACHR- Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (Interamerican Court of Human Rights) IDSS - Instituto Dominicano de Seguros Sociales (Dominican Institute of Social Security) ILO - International Labor Organization INAZUCAR - Instituto Azucarero Dominicano (Dominican Sugar Institute) IOM - International Organization for Migration NCHR - National Coalition for Haitian Rights ODH - Oficina de Desarrollo Humano (Office of Human Development) PIDCP - Pacto de Internacional Derechos Civiles y Políticos (Pact of International Civil and Political Rights) UN - United Nations UNDP - United Nations Development Program USDA - US Department of Agriculture USDOL - US Department of Labor Glossary Ajusteros: The ajusteros are administrators who coordinate the harvest in the bateyes and their job is to supply the ingenio with sugarcane, as well as to pay workers‘ salaries. Anba fil: Creole term meaning "under the wire," used to refer to undocumented migrants who arrive in the Dominican Republic "illegally" Barracón: Worker housing in bateyes in which picadores tend to live. P a g e | 5 Batey: The settlements and/or communities that developed around the sugar industry. Bodegas: Sites for storage and sale of food (used synonymously with colmado). Braceros: The Labor Code defines braceros as wage workers who work exclusively in the field (art. 145 CT). However, historically the term was used to refer to temporary workers recruited to work as cane cutters. The term continues to be used today to refer to workers engaged in cutting cane. Buscones: Human smugglers who work on the Dominican-Haitian border and sometimes work as labor brokers. Capataz: A person who supervises a group of workers. Carreteros: Workers responsible for transporting cut cane in carts. Cédula: Personal identity document. Colmado: Small shops selling food and supplies (in the bateyes, these are the main food retailers). Colonos: Sugarcane producers who grow and harvest sugar cane for sale to mills. Collective agreement: Legal agreement between a company union and the company regarding wages and working conditions, beyond those established by law. Cultivadores: Workers responsible for planting sugarcane. Downtime: Period in which no sugarcane is harvested and the workload is dramatically reduced. During this time, workers are generally engaged in maintenance of the plantations (sugarcane cultivation, weeding, etc.). Field Workers: According to the Labor Code field workers are "regular workers of agricultural, agro-industrial, livestock and forestry businesses, except those who exercise their industrial or commercial activities.‖ Forced Labor: ―All work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily‖ (Art. 2, ILO Convention No. 29). Hectárea: Unit of measurement equivalent to 2.47 acres. Ingenio: Industrial area where sugarcane is processed for the production of sugar. The term is also used to designate the industrial complex's plantations and bateyes. P a g e | 6 Kongó: Term originally used to designate Haitians brought to the Dominican Republic through bilateral contracts. Now used to refer to recent Haitian migrants who do not speak any Spanish. Mayordomo: A supervisor of braceros. Metric ton: 1,000 kilograms or 2,205 pounds. Picador: Synonymous with bracero or cane cutter. Tarea: Unit of measurement equivalent to 0.15 acres. Temporary Workers: According to Migration Law No. 285-04, temporary workers are non-resident workers who are hired to "provide services for a specific period and under contract, either individually or as part of a group [...] (art. 36.5)." Traditionally, the term "temporary" was used to designate braceros brought under intergovernmental agreements who were repatriated at the end of the harvest. Vale: Promissory note traditionally used as payment in the sugar industry and other agricultural plantations and used to buy food or other items. Zafra: Sugarcane harvest (usually occurs between December and June in the Dominican Republic). Introduction Verité carried out research on the presence of indicators of forced labor in the production of goods in seven countries from 2009 through 2011. Research was carried out on the production of shrimp in Bangladesh; Brazil-nuts, cattle, corn,