Haiti's minimum wage battle

In May 2009, both chambers of the Haitian Parliament voted to increase the daily minimum wage from 70 gourdes ($1.75) to 200 gourdes ($5). Haiti is the least developed nation in the western hemisphere. The approval of the minimum wage legislation is seen as a momentous victory for Haitians living in poverty. However, Haitian president René Préval declined to sign the proposed legislation into law. Instead, the president offered a counter proposal to raise the minimum wage to just 125 gourdes a day, further cementing the status of the Haitian working class as one of the poorest and lowest paid in the hemisphere. In early August, the Parliament approved the 125 gourdes adjustment. The recent minimum wage battle reflects the conflict between the business sector and Haiti's poor underclass, and also highlights the harsh political realities that have plagued the embattled Préval since his presidential victory in 2006. Préval's political capital has been continuously squeezed and pressured by Haiti's business class as well as by external political players. Though Préval is the reputed champion of the poor, he also has been single-minded in trying to gain the support of the country's pro-business faction that seriously opposed his victory in 2006.