A SOLIDARITY gathering with Haitian unions has reinforced the need to respect the right of the Haitian people to decide their own future, and to support their efforts to end the crisis that has gripped the country, says Canadian public sector union CUPE.
CUPE took part in the meeting with the Confederation des Travailleurs Haïtiens (CTH) and our partner union the Confederation of Public and Private Sector Workers (CTSP), along with unions from ten other countries.
CTH and CTSP are part of a Haitian civil society coalition organising for desperately needed change.
International attention is focused on the current economic, political and social instability in Haiti. The crisis includes a rise in gang violence and power, the resurgence of cholera, a lack of access to health and social services, low wages, food insecurity, and the spiralling cost of scarce goods.
What’s drawing far less media and international attention is how the Haitian people are organising for solutions that are led by them, including community and faith-based organisations and unions. The solidarity gathering aimed to raise awareness about the importance of this organising, and to rally support.
The solidarity meeting ended with a joint statement, the Haití: Declaración de Ouanaminthe.
It states that ‘the crisis in Haiti is due to bad governance, international interference, the absence of the rule of law and social justice, and a model of society where the economy is for the benefit of the elite.’
It further adds that ‘any solution to the crisis in Haiti must begin with the recognition of the sovereignty of the country, the State and the people of Haiti.
‘It is up to the people of Haiti to choose their leaders and their form of government.
‘In the current context, any international armed intervention would go against the right to self-determination of Haitians.’
Participants in the meeting are also developing a union strategy to rebuild from the crisis and boost international support and will release that roadmap in the coming months.
CUPE was represented by Regional Vice-President, Quebec, Richard Delisle.
The meeting took place at the border with Dominican Republic, in the commune, or community, of Ouanaminthe.
The meeting was organised by the CTH and CTSP, which are Haitian affiliates of the International Trade Union Confederation and the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas.
CUPE has written to Foreign Affairs minister Mélanie Joly calling on the Canadian government to respect Haitian democracy and self determination, and to stay away from military intervention.
CUPE union continues to stand in solidarity with workers and community members in Haiti as they plan for a future that meets the needs and aspirations of all Haitian people.
- Solidarity in action: Global Justice Fund projects 2022-2023
Below are some of the summaries of CUPE’s current Global Justice Fund projects highlighting the many ways CUPE members are building international solidarity.
Burma
Supporting women human rights defenders and their organisations
Project sponsor: CUPE 2440. Partner Organisation: Tavoyan Women’s Union
This project will support the work of the Tavoyan Women’s Union to meet the needs of women’s human rights defenders in Burma. The current political context has made TWU leaders targets of repression, and their work has been limited.
In the wake of the February 2021 coup, the TWU relocated for safety reasons. The organisation also reorganised its work to support young activists and internally displaced people, and document human rights violations. The TWU is engaged in national political dialogue and is focussing on building national and regional political platforms, networking with international organisations, and fundraising for its work.
Canada
Solidarity with migrant workers – End labour trafficking! Regularise!
Project sponsor: CUPE 40. Partner organisation: Migrante Canada
This project will support Migrante Canada organising workshops about the situation of temporary foreign workers in Canada. The workshops will target migrant, racialised, low-income and precarious communities and undocumented/non-status workers, with a focus on ending labour trafficking and regularising migrant workers by providing them with official immigration status.
Migrante Canada is a Canada-wide alliance of Filipino migrant and immigrant organisations focussing on the rights and welfare of migrant workers, and the conditions that force global migration.
This project will give CUPE members a deeper understanding of who undocumented/non-status migrants are, why they are undocumented, and the challenges and barriers they face. The goal is to strengthen the capacity of CUPE members to speak up and take action as allies, including advocating for policies that support permanent immigration status for all migrant workers.
Colombia
Working for peace and human rights
Project sponsor: CUPE British Columbia. Partner organisation: NOMADESC (Association for Research and Social Action)
This project will support NOMADESC’s work with campesino (farmer), Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities in southwestern Colombia. NOMADESC is training local human rights defenders and accompanying communities seeking justice for widespread rights violations in the region.
Black, Indigenous and campesino communities are facing a wave of extreme violence. The communities where NOMADESC partners work and organise are experiencing increasing human rights violations.
During the COVID lockdown, the Colombian police used curfew enforcement as cover to target activists. Paramilitary forces, knowing that rights defenders could not take their usual precautions, began to hunt activists down in their homes.
The project aims to educate CUPE members about the repression people in the Colombian labour and social movements are facing, and to highlight the struggles Colombian activists and communities are waging in response.
Colombia
Building labour-community alliances to defend public water
Project sponsors: CUPE Nova Scotia, CUPE Newfoundland and Labrador. Partner organisation: SINTRACUAVALLE
This project will strengthen SINTRACUAVALLE’s citizen education campaign to mobilise against water privatisation and will support the union continuing to organise workers in the water sector.
SINTRACUAVALLE is the union representing workers at Colombia’s only public water provider. ACUAVALLE serves more than 700,000 water users in 36 municipalities in the province of Valle del Cauca.
The leaders and members of SINTRACUAVALLE are leading a courageous fight against water privatisation, undeterred by threats and violence.
The project encourages members of civil society, water users, unions, and non-governmental and social organisations to develop joint actions with water workers who are members of SINTRACUAVALLE.