Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic: The Economy
also worked as labor recruiters and field inspectors in the cane
fields as well as laborers harvesting coffee, rice, and cocoa and
as construction workers in Santo Domingo.
Although the law prohibits forced or compulsory labor,
forced overtime in factories continues to be a problem.
Employers, particularly in FTZs, sometimes lock the exit doors
at the normal closing time to prevent workers from leaving.
Other employers fail to inform new hires that overtime is
optional. And there have been reports of some employees
being fired for refusing to work overtime.
The Labor Code prohibits employment of children under
fourteen years of age and places restrictions on the employment
of children under the age of sixteen. These restrictions
include a limitation of no more than six hours of daily work, no
employment in dangerous occupations or establishments serving
alcohol, as well as limitations on nighttime work. Dominican
law requires six years of formal education. High levels of
unemployment and lack of a social safety net, however, create
pressures on families to allow children to earn supplemental
income. Tens of thousands of children work selling newspapers,
shining shoes, or washing cars, often during school hours.
The Labor Code authorizes a National Salary Committee to
set minimum wage levels; the Congress may also enact minimum
wage legislation. The minimum wage equals approximately
US$75 per month. Although this amount covers only a
fraction of the living costs of a family in Santo Domingo, many
workers make only the minimum wage. For example, 60 percent
of government employees earn only minimum wage. The
Labor Code establishes a standard work period of eight hours a
day and forty-four hours per week. It also stipulates that all
workers are entitled to thirty-six hours of uninterrupted rest
each week, and to a 35 percent differential for work above
forty-four hours up to sixty-eight hours per week and double
time for any hours above sixty-eight hours per week. The
degree to which Labor Code provisions are enforced is uncertain.
The Dominican Social Security Institute (Instituto Dominicano
del Seguro Social—IDSS) sets workplace safety and health
conditions. However, the existing social security system does
not apply to all workers and is underfunded. In addition, both
the IDSS and the Secretariat of State for Labor have a limited
number of inspectors appointed through political patronage
charged with enforcing standards. In practice, for example,
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