SANTO DOMINGO– Two engineers from the Dominican construction sector yesterday rejected the claims of the study published by the National Migration Institute of the Dominican Republic (INMRD), which maintains that hiring Haitian labor allows savings of up to 60% of the budget in some stages of the construction process.
The professionals told El Inmobiliario that this supposed saving is not reflected in practice, since the costs associated with employing undocumented workers or those without work visas are high and represent a risk for companies.
Engineer Rafael Durán, SBDS investment manager, stated: “It is not true that we are saving anything with them,” explaining that, by not being able to register these workers with the Social Security Treasury (TSS) or have them covered by labor insurance, companies are left unprotected against any accident.
“I paid more than 160,000 pesos for a single Haitian worker who fell from a second floor while running from Immigration. Everything came out of my own pocket: hospital, medicine, and sick pay,” he added.
Durán dismissed as “a false narrative” the idea that there are savings to be made by hiring Haitian workers, especially if they are undocumented. He also questioned the argument that they are paid less. “If we pay the same prices, what are we saving on? That argument makes no sense,” he emphasized.
In his opinion, the real problem is the lack of interest among many young Dominicans in taking physically demanding jobs. “A high school graduate can take a technical course, but if they didn't study and come from a vulnerable background, they often don't want to work under duress or simply turn to crime,” he stated.
For his part, engineer Carlos Hernández denied that labor costs are linked to the worker's nationality. “I disagree with that conclusion. There are jobs that, regardless of the salary, Dominicans aren't interested in doing. It's not a matter of price, it's a matter of interest,” he stated.
Hernández argued that the Ministry of Labor establishes clear rates that apply regardless of the worker's origin, and that when comparing these amounts with what is actually paid on construction sites, it becomes clear that there is no specific low cost for hiring foreigners.
Both engineers agreed that the sector faces a real shortage of labor willing to take on certain tasks, but denied that the solution lies in employing workers in informal conditions or without job security.
