Sunday the Executive Committee of the Association of Haitian Customs (ADH) ignoring the memorandum of the Minister of the Economy calling for the return to work on Monday, March 12, announced in a note the continuation of the strike for the 8th consecutive day https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-23734-icihaiti-strike-200-million-loss-of-revenue-per-day-for-the-state.html to protest against the non-respect of the commitments of the Moïse-Lafontant government, included in the memorandum of understanding signed in October 2017 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22349-haiti-politics-customs-officers-accept-a-truce.html relating in particular to a salary increase and to the special status of customs officers.

Recall that in his memorandum addressed to the General Customs Administration (AGD) on March 8, Jude Alix Patrick Solomon the Minister of Economy and Finance "requests to take the necessary steps to ensure that all customs agents to be at their post on Monday, 12 March 2018 at 8:00 am" adding further "In order to mitigate the harmful effects of this work stoppage, the AGD will take the appropriate measures to ensure that all customs services are available on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 March. In this sense, the AGD will have to deal, as a matter of priority, with the dossiers relating to imports of raw materials, perishable goods, as well as those intended for export [...]"

In addition, the ADH regrets in its note that "officials have preferably appealed to armed men in the pay of some strong men of the country to proceed with the unloading of the ships, very late in the evening of March 10, at the Port of Port-au-Prince [...]" deploring "the manifest will of some officials to undermine the solid foundation of the initialed Memorandum of Understanding on October 21, 2017, by using the CIMO and UDMO agents to prohibit the access of customs agents to their workstations [...]"

However, the ADH announces to the central authorities that emergency cells have been set up in the main customs offices, which will take charge of customs clearance and delivery of medicines, antiretroviral drugs, human blood bags, aid shipments, oxygen cylinders and bodies of deceased repatriated to the country.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23753-haiti-flash-customs-agents-strike-manufactures-close-and-send-back-their-workers.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-23734-icihaiti-strike-200-million-loss-of-revenue-per-day-for-the-state.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22349-haiti-politics-customs-officers-accept-a-truce.html

S/ HaitiLibre