Copymecon and Acoprovi support the measure adopted by the government
SANTO DOMINGO.- Although most construction workers or leaders of the unions that represent them admit that so far they have not begun to feel the effects of the total closure of the border with Haiti, some revealed that they have uncertainty about what may happen, given that more than 80 percent of the workforce in that sector is of Haitian nationality.
This was expressed separately to the newspaper El Inmobiliarioby Eliseo Christopher, president of the Dominican Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Construction Companies (Copymecon); Annerys Meléndez, president of the Association of Housing Builders and Promoters (Acoprovi); Cristian Rojas, former president of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (Codia); Jochimin Pérez, of JPérez Constructora and the engineer Rafael Durán.
Although Christopher, from Copymecon, said that his sector supports the closure of the air, sea and land borders with Haiti, he expressed that there is no doubt that in the short, medium and long term this decision will affect different productive sectors of the country.
He noted that more than 80 percent of construction workers are of foreign nationality (Haitians).
"The border closures will definitely have an impact in the short, medium, and long term. Right now, at this moment, we haven't yet felt the impact we expect to see in the construction sector on our projects," he reflected.
He indicated that currently the Haitian workforce in that sector is normal as if the borders were open.
However, he reiterated that "we are preparing for a decrease or reduction in that labor supply in the short term... we understand that in different sectors we are going to have a very negative impact, very negative, if the border remains closed.".
The president of Copymecon emphasized that the organization supports the government's measure from the perspective of respect for the Dominican Constitution and laws, as well as international treaties.
In this regard, Meléndez, from Acoprovi, revealed that so far there is no "major negative effect from the border closure" and that ongoing construction projects have not been halted.
"The departure of Haitian nationals to their country of origin and other destinations has not, so far, harmed the construction workforce," he said.
He emphasized that Acoprovi supports the measures adopted by the government.
Meanwhile, Rojas, former president of Codia, views the situation less optimistically.
"Not only have many construction workers left, but they are being persecuted," he lamented.
He questioned why raids are observed every Friday in operations that, in his opinion, give the impression that they are targeting criminals.
He asks, "What is happening?" and says he hopes the problem will not contribute to a halt in construction and make Haitian labor more expensive.
"We engineers have to transport Haitians from one place to another in our vehicles to protect them and to move the work forward because there is a persecution against Haitian citizens, and I don't know what is happening," he questioned.
Meanwhile, Pérez, from JPérez Constructora, also stated that they are being affected by the closure of the border with Haiti and that the builders feel uncertain.
However, he admitted that so far the Haitian workforce has remained stable.
In the case of engineer Durán, he revealed that a situation has been occurring for a long time, supposedly with nationals from the neighboring country, because due to the problem they are forced to pay third parties to bring them to the national territory and transport them to their work areas.
He revealed that on one occasion he realized that a person was renting a house to Haitians who came to work in the Dominican Republic.
He indicated that there are Dominicans who advise Haitians on everything, even how much money they should charge for their labor services, and that they charge for these guidance services.
