By Simon Glover for Ecotextile News

Fourteen women illegally fired from a Haitian factory supplying Gap’s Old Navy brand have received nearly two years of back pay following a global campaign by labour rights groups. The Willbes factory in Port-au-Prince dismissed five pregnant workers and nine women union leaders in July 2024 as part of layoffs affecting around 900 workers, breaching Haitian labour law protections for pregnant employees and union representatives. The women have now received about $40,000 in back wages in total, equivalent to 22 months of wages each, and have been promised priority for future vacancies at the plant.

According to advocacy group Partners for Dignity and Rights, Gap initially backed the supplier’s claim that the pregnant workers and union leaders had “chosen” to be dismissed, and only shifted course after months of pressure from the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), US student groups and women’s and human rights organizations.

“No worker should have to wait nearly two years for her pay,” said Anna Canning, senior strategy director at Partners for Dignity and Rights.

The WRC’s investigation found the terminations violated Haitian labour law and Gap’s own supplier code of conduct, which bars discrimination and requires compliance with national legislation. Haitian law prohibits dismissing pregnant workers without prior approval from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour and gives priority protection to union representatives during layoffs.

The case also raises questions over labour compliance auditing. Better Work Haiti, a joint programme of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Finance Corporation (IFC), initially endorsed factory management’s position that the dismissals were legal, despite not interviewing the affected workers, according to the WRC and local unions. One Haitian union leader cited by Partners for Dignity and Rights said

Better Work’s “cooperation with employers” model risks “prioritising stable relationships with factories and brands at the expense of fully acknowledging violations of workers’ rights”.

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