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Dominican Republic - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Santo Domingo

 

CLIMATE

Tropical maritime climate; little seasonal temperature variation with seasonal variation in rainfall.

 

LANGUAGES

Spanish

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

The Dominican Republic’s legal system is based on French civil codes.

 

CURRENCY

Dominican Peso (1 USD = 18.22100 DOP as of April 15, 2002).

 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - COST-OF-LIVING

ERI's Relocation Assessor is a recommended source for cost-of-living data.

 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U. S. Embassy at Santo Domingo

Calle Leopoldo Navarro

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Telephone: (809) 221-7121

Fax: (809) 686-7437

http://www.usemb.gov.do/

 

Embassy of the Dominican Republic at Washington D.C.

1715 22nd Street N.W.

Washington D.C. 20008

Telephone: (202) 332-6280

Fax: (202) 265-8057

Email: domrep@domrep.org

http://www.domrep.org/

 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - HOLIDAYS

 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - LEAVE

Maternity Leave: 12 weeks – 100% of pay (paid by social security and employer).

 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - MINIMUM AGE

The Labor Code prohibits employment of children under 14 years of age and places restrictions on the employment of children under the age of 16.

 

Restrictions for children between the ages of 14 and 16 include limiting the daily number of working hours to 6, prohibiting employment in dangerous occupations or in establishments serving alcohol, and limiting nighttime work. Children between the ages of 14 and 16 may work in apprenticeship and artistic programs.

 

(Section 6.d. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Dominican Republic – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The minimum monthly salary is 2,490 pesos in the Free Trade Zones (FTZ's) (approximately $152) and 3,416 pesos outside the FTZ's (approximately $208).

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Dominican Republic – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - REMUNERATION

ERI's Geographic and Salary Assessors are recommended sources for international remuneration covering 189 countries.

 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution provides for the freedom to organize labor unions, and all workers, except the military and the police, are free to organize. Organized labor represents an estimated 10 percent of the work force and is divided among four major confederations and a number of independent unions. There are 3,506 registered unions in the country, but it is estimated that 60 percent are inactive. The 1992 Labor Code provides extensive protection for worker rights and specifies the steps legally required to establish a union, federation, or confederation. The code calls for automatic recognition of a union if the Government has not acted on its application within 30 days. In practice, the Government readily facilitates recognition of labor organizations.

 

The Government generally respects association rights and places no obstacles to union registration, affiliation, or the ability to engage in legal strikes. However, enforcement of labor laws is sometimes unreliable, inhibiting employees from freely exercising their rights.

 

Unions are independent of the Government and generally independent of political parties. The law forbidding companies to fire union organizers or members is enforced selectively, and penalties are insufficient to deter employers from violating worker rights. There were reports of widespread discreet intimidation by employers in an effort to prevent union activity, especially in the Free Trade Zones.

 

The Constitution provides for the right of workers to strike (and for private sector employers to lock out workers). Requirements for calling a strike include the support of an absolute majority of all company workers whether unionized or not, a prior attempt to resolve the conflict through mediation, written notification to the Ministry of Labor, and a 10-day waiting period following notification before proceeding with the strike. There were no significant strikes during the year. The Government sometimes responded with force to disperse demonstrations in support of strikes.

 

The 1999 case involving employees of the FTZ company D & P Handbag in Santiago still was pending before a labor court in Santiago at year's end. The 1999 case involving the Han Chang company was settled through mediation. The employees received a settlement but were not reinstated. The company did not lose its export license. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions reported that, in the same FTZ, employers distributed a blacklist among companies to prevent these workers from finding other jobs.

 

In March 2000, the Caribbean Sugar Producer's Consortium laid off 150 workers at its sugar mill in Consuelo in retaliation for having formed a trade union. A court order succeeded in getting the majority of the workers reinstated, and those persons received some compensation for the period during which the workers were unemployed. Those who were not reinstated still had not received compensation at year's end.

 

Labor unions can and do affiliate freely regionally and internationally.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

Collective bargaining is legal and may take place in firms in which a union has gained the support of an absolute majority of the workers. Only a minority of companies have collective bargaining pacts, and the International Labor Organization (ILO) considers the requirements for collective bargaining rights to be excessive and finds that in many cases they could impede collective bargaining. The Labor Code stipulates that workers cannot be dismissed because of their trade union membership or activities; however, in practice, workers sometimes are fired because of their union activities.

 

The Labor Code establishes a system of labor courts for dealing with disputes. While cases do make their way through the labor courts, enforcement of judgments is sometimes unreliable.

 

The Labor Code applies in the 40 established FTZ's, which employ approximately 200,000 workers, mostly women. Workplace regulations and their enforcement in the FTZ's do not differ from those in the country at large, although working conditions are sometimes better, and the pay is sometimes higher. There were reports of widespread discreet intimidation by employers in the FTZ's in an effort to prevent union activity. Unions in the FTZ's report that their members hesitate to discuss union activity at work, even during break time, due to fear of losing their jobs. Some FTZ companies have been accused of discharging workers who attempt to organize unions, but there also have been reports of union organizers extorting money from business owners. In the FTZ's, while there may be as many as 10 collective bargaining agreements on paper, only 3 actually are functioning. The majority of the unions in the FTZ's are affiliated with the National Federation of Free Trade Zone Workers (FENATRAZONA) or the United Federation of Free Trade Zone Workers. FENATRAZONA estimates that only 3 percent of the workers in the FTZ's are unionized.

 

Many of the major manufacturers in the FTZ's have voluntary "codes of conduct" that provide for protection against forced labor, freedom of association, freedom from discrimination, and prohibit the use of child labor. They also call for a workplace that is safe and healthy. However, workers rarely have heard of such codes, or the principles they set out. Mandatory overtime is a common practice, and it is occasionally enforced through locked doors or loss of pay or jobs for those who refuse.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including that performed by children; however, such practices still exist in the adult worker population and among children in the informal sector. Young children "adopted" by families work under a kind of indentured servitude, and homeless children are made to beg by adults. Trafficking in women and children, particularly for purposes of prostitution, is also a problem.

 

The FENATRAZONA noted that mandatory overtime in the FTZ factories is a common practice. Workers also reported that their employers locked factory doors with chains so they could not leave, and took incentive pay away from or fired those who refused to work overtime. For example, many companies use an incentive system in which a team of 12 to 15 persons is given a quota to fill by the end of the week, in order to receive extra benefits. Most teams are unable to fill the quota to receive the benefits and are not paid overtime pay for the extra time they put in to attempt to fill the quota. Union officials state that newly hired workers are not informed that overtime is optional.

 

The Association for the Development of Women and the Environment reported an increase of forced adult labor in the sugar industry in the shantytowns of La Jagua, Sabana Grande de Boya, and Los Jovillos. Field guards reportedly kept workers' clothes and documents to prevent them from leaving. Employers also withheld wages to keep workers in the fields.

 

d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment

 

The Labor Code prohibits employment of children under 14 years of age and places restrictions on the employment of children under the age of 16; however, child labor is a serious problem. Restrictions for children between the ages of 14 and 16 include limiting the daily number of working hours to 6, prohibiting employment in dangerous occupations or in establishments serving alcohol, and limiting nighttime work. A company could face legal sanctions and fines if caught employing underage children. Children between the ages of 14 and 16 may work in apprenticeship and artistic programs. A national child labor survey released in October reported that an estimated 17.7 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 17 are engaged in some form of child labor.

 

The high level of unemployment and lack of a social safety net create pressures on families to allow or encourage children to earn supplemental income. Tens of thousands of children begin working before the age of 14. Child labor takes place primarily in the informal economy, small businesses, clandestine factories, and prostitution. Conditions in clandestine factories are generally poor, unsanitary, and often dangerous. The Government has attempted to eliminate the use of children for cutting sugar cane; however, there are still reports that poor Haitian and Dominican children accompany their parents to work in the cane fields, with the tacit acceptance of sugar companies. Also, human rights groups report an increase in the number of undocumented Haitian 14- and 15-year-olds working in the cane fields.

 

Sexual exploitation of children is a problem.

 

On December 15, 2000, the Government ratified ILO Convention 182 on elimination of the worst forms of child labor. The Ministry of Labor, in collaboration with the ILO's Program on the Eradication of Child Labor, and other international labor rights organizations, has implemented programs to combat child labor. These include the national child labor survey and a program to remove children from dangerous agricultural work in San Jose de Ocoa, Constanza, and Azua. The Constanza program removed over 550 children, twice as many as the targeted number, from work in hazardous agriculture, and placed them in schools.

 

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor by children; however, such practices persist in the informal sector, and trafficking in girls is a serious problem. There were no reports of forced child labor in the formal sector.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The Constitution empowers the executive branch to set minimum wage levels, and the Labor Code assigns this task to a national salary committee. Congress also may enact minimum wage legislation. The minimum monthly salary is $152 (2,490 pesos) in the FTZ's and $208 (3,416) outside the FTZ's. The minimum wage does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. It only provides approximately one-third of the income necessary to sustain an average family. The national poverty level, which is based on a basket of goods and services consumed by a typical family, is $402 (6,607 pesos) per month for a family of five.

 

The Labor Code establishes a standard work period of 8 hours per day and 44 hours per week. The code also stipulates that all workers are entitled to 36 hours of uninterrupted rest each week. In practice, a typical workweek is Monday through Friday plus a half day on Saturday, but longer hours are common. The code grants workers a 35 percent differential for work totaling between 44 hours to 68 hours per week and double time for any hours above 68 hours per week. Overtime is mandatory at some firms in the FTZ's.

 

Conditions for agricultural workers are poor, especially in the sugar industry. Most sugar cane worker villages lack schools, medical facilities, running water, and sewage systems, and have high rates of disease. On sugar plantations, cane cutters usually are paid by the weight of cane cut rather than the hours worked. Employers often do not provide trucks to transport the newly cut cane at the conclusion of the workday, causing workers to receive lower compensation because the cane dries and weighs less.

 

When the cane is weighed, workers are given tickets indicating the weight of cane cut (often rounded in favor of the employer) and the amount of money due. These tickets, issued to a specific person but payable to the bearer, may be turned in to the employer and redeemed for cash every 2 weeks. Many cane cutters earn less than $4.00 (60 pesos) per day. Because workers earn so little and sometimes cannot wait until payday to redeem their tickets, an informal barter system has evolved in which the tickets also are used to purchase items at private stores located on the plantations. These private stores make change by giving back a combination of tickets and cash. However, it is not unusual for these stores to retain 10 percent of the cash due a customer.

 

The Dominican Human Rights Committee and shantytown residents report that conditions of work for cane workers have deteriorated since the industry was privatized in 1999. Workers reportedly are paid less, work longer hours, and have fewer benefits, according to the committee. While child labor in the sugar industry had decreased significantly, according to human rights advocates and labor federations, it still exists and increased slightly during the past year.

 

The Dominican Social Security Institute (IDSS) sets workplace safety and health conditions. During the year, Congress passed a new Social Security law that expanded coverage of the social security programs. Approximately 13,000 employees work in the IDSS bureaucracy to support fewer than 20,000 retirees.

 

Both the IDSS and the Ministry of Labor have small corps of inspectors charged with enforcing standards. The Secretariat of Labor has 250 inspectors who seek to improve sanitation, health care, and safety for workers. Included in this number is a smaller, specialized corps (eight in Santo Domingo) of inspectors for the FTZ's. Inspector positions customarily are filled through political patronage, and bribes from businesses are common. In practice workers cannot remove themselves from hazardous working situations without jeopardizing employment.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

The law prohibits trafficking in persons; however, trafficking in women and children from, to, and within the country remains a serious problem. Women 18 to 25 years of age are at the highest risk for being trafficked. According to a report released in July by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), principal destination countries are in Europe and Latin America, including Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Greece, Belgium, Curacao, San Martin, Aruba, Panama, Venezuela, and Argentina. Women are trafficked to the United States, although in smaller numbers. Within the country, there is a serious problem of prostitution of minors, primarily in the tourist areas. Women and children also are trafficked from Haiti and often are forced to beg in the streets.

 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

http://www.ssa.gov/SSA_Home.html

 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The Labor Code establishes a standard work period of 8 hours per day and 44 hours per week. The code also stipulates that all workers are entitled to 36 hours of uninterrupted rest each week. In practice, a typical workweek is Monday through Friday plus a half day on Saturday, but longer hours are common.

 

The code grants workers a 35 percent differential for work totaling between 44 hours to 68 hours per week and double time for any hours above 68 hours per week. Overtime is mandatory at some firms in the Free Trade Zones.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Dominican Republic – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)