The Stalemate of an Unending Strike
By La Rédaction · Port-au-Prince
· 10 min read · Updated 24 April 2026
Translated from French — AI-assisted and reviewed by the editorial team. The French version is authoritative. Read the original · About our translation policy
The worker's entire arsenal lies in the rage provoked in them by their work situation. This rage constitutes a formidable 'weapon' when transformed into a strike, the most powerful weapon of laborers and workers. However, its exhaustion or misuse can be catastrophic for the working masses, as Jacques Roumain so aptly put it in Gouverneurs de la rosée. 'Rage. Rage,' a character says, 'makes you clench your jaws and tighten your belt closer to the skin of your belly when you are hungry. Rage is a great force. When we went on huelga [strike], every man lined up, loaded like a rifle to the muzzle with his rage. Rage was his right and his justice. Nothing can be done against that.'
Trade Unionism, Democracy, and Citizenship
Participation in social life or civic engagement are not natural behaviors. Even within a democratic republic, they are conquered and defended. However, citizenship wears out and withers when neglected. Conversely, it is asserted and developed as soon as it is sought and cultivated. Trade unionism is one of these privileged spaces for democracy and the learning of citizenship. It must necessarily acquire a framework for renewal. All of this justifies a constant need to revitalize trade unionism, as the values it upholds are always in tune with contemporary reality. In other words, it thrives on current events. It follows that trade unionism, in a so-called democratic society, is necessary for the crystallization of citizens' and workers' demands. It is a tool for citizenship. Generally, two perceptions of trade unionism coexist and intertwine. A symbol of collective strength, it would also be an alignment with or a negation of the individual. Therefore, a fundamental question arises: to be strong collectively, must one renounce individual freedom? Means of Action for a Trade Union
Any trade union generally has various means of action to organize its struggle and defend the interests of its members. For example, collective bargaining, strikes, demonstrations, legal assistance, the creation of union sections, lawsuits, etc. All these actions aim to obtain salary improvements, more favorable working conditions, and the protection of employees' rights. To carry out these union actions, unions can fight separately, just as they can federate, confederate, or group together as a union platform. A platform can be more or less specific or occasional. In this sense, unions can form a platform to strengthen their impact on a given demand and then dissociate. Similarly, they can group together as part of their participation in social dialogue and labor reforms. Haitian Trade Unionism and Its Modes of Action
In general, our unions do not have a culture of federation. Ordinarily, they group together as platforms, focusing on occasional demands or as part of their participation in social dialogues, as has been the case in recent years. For example, earlier this year, education sector unions were asked to group together (perhaps by affinity or proximity) to facilitate their participation in the 'social dialogue' relaunched by the incumbent Minister of Education, Mr. Augustin Antoine. Thus, several groupings were formed, such as: CONEHQ, SPEH, CUTRACEPH, etc. And the 'dialogue' was followed by collective bargaining. Agreements were reportedly reached after several discussion sessions, sometimes with the authorities of the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP), and sometimes with the head of government and officials of the said Ministry. Commitments were made at the government level following the launch of the general and unlimited strike by union platforms on January 13, 2025. On January 20, 2025, a commitment agreement was signed between the government and teachers' unions, which included, among other things: regularization and budgeting of qualified classroom teachers, payment of salary arrears, appointment of ENS and CEFEF interns, the granting of a starting card of 15,000 gourdes monthly to all educational agents within a reasonable timeframe, etc. Regarding means of action, unions in the education sector, like those in other sectors, have, moreover, resorted to very few of the aforementioned options. Most often, they content themselves with organizing sit-ins with a few dozen teachers, holding press conferences, publishing protest and challenge notes, undertaking media campaigns, and legal actions. They issue calls for limited strikes which are too often and quite too quickly transformed into general and unlimited strikes in all public schools across the country. Most often, their demands are postponed indefinitely for various reasons:
1) Education is not the priority of this state, which acts solely in the interest of imperialists;
2) Mediocracy predominates in the country;
3) Our leaders are incompetent and obscurantist;
4) Our educational system is an industry of zombification. Beyond these 'state reasons' that lead to the state's inaction towards educational agents in general and teachers in particular, it is also worth mentioning some problems raised by the strike calls of unions, which quite often confuse radicalism and trade unionism when it comes to strikes. Let there be no misunderstanding about the concept of a strike. Fundamentally, a strike is not subversive. But, if demands are not met, it can be transformed into something else – for example, an insurrectional revolt, or even, in certain cases, under the leadership of a true workers' party, into a revolution. But we are not there yet, concerning our country. A strike should be understood primarily as a means of pressure used by unions to assert their demands in case of failed negotiations and conflicts with the employer. It is guaranteed by the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of Haiti in its article 35.3: 'Freedom of association is guaranteed. Any worker in the private and public sectors may join the union of their professional activities for the exclusive defense of their work interests.' A strike being a corollary of trade unionism, this republican constitution simultaneously recognizes the right to strike. Article 35.5 stipulates: 'The right to strike is recognized within the limits determined by law.' The functioning of unions is regulated by the Haitian labor code, particularly in its articles 122 to 128. Four categories of unions are distinguished: a) professional unions, b) company unions, c) industrial unions, and d) mixed unions. Here, we are only interested in the first category (a). We will analyze the case of the general and unlimited strike by teachers' unions, launched on January 13, 2025, in Haiti. This strike has already lasted approximately 5 months, impacting the most disadvantaged, to express demands that are at least very fair and sufficiently justified. With what result? The results are still pending. Meanwhile, we are witnessing the deterioration of the strike under the passive gaze of teachers' unions and in an increasingly deleterious climate. It is the most complete stagnation and inertia of the union platforms. Even the National Teachers' Day, May 17, could not rouse union members from their strike-induced slumber. An unending strike, their sole credo. Meanwhile, a teacher named Williamson Saint-fleur was savagely beaten by individuals in uniform from a tourist unit (Politour) of the Haitian National Police on May 18, 2025, at the Cap-Haitien Cathedral, during the Te Deum sung in honor of the 'state authorities' who were pitifully parading to 'celebrate' the creation of our bicolor flag on May 18, 1803, in Arcahaie. This reprehensible incident occurred on that day, just 48 hours after the celebration of National Teachers' Day. What are we doing (to quote Gaëlle Bien-Aimé)? Strengths and Weaknesses of Teachers' Union Strikes
While a strike is a traditional means of pressure, used in case of failed negotiations or conflicts with the employer to achieve demands, it cannot be a primary measure, an indefinite action, or an immediately unlimited undertaking. Its duration must be gradual. The right to strike, being a fundamental right of constitutional value, nevertheless needs to be reconciled with the essential principle of continuity of public service. A strike must include two cumulative elements:
a) unions resort to strikes too quickly, for lack of being able to organize anything else of significant scale;
b) unions, even with a little over thirty thousand (30,000) members, cannot organize a demonstration gathering 500 (five hundred) unionized teachers in a public square to demonstrate strength and gain visibility;
c) to draw a crowd, they need the gracious participation of students. However, there should be specific student organizations, as in the past (during ZEL's time), because students have their own interests, different from those of teachers;
d) unionized teachers strike in the public sector and continue to work in the private sector, which creates a frightening inequity for public sector students;
e) unionized teachers on strike do not set foot in their assigned establishments. Yet, they take advantage of this to attend to their personal activities. (As a censor for thirteen years, I am well-placed to know and confirm this).
f) the state pays better, we demand salary increases, adjustments, and alignment from it, while in the private sector, we are paid less, yet we work quietly without striking. This does not seem fair either;
g) we strike without limits, without any consideration for students and their parents from the most modest popular classes;
h) while striking, we continue to receive our salaries regularly from the public treasury, yet after the strike is lifted, we will not be able to compensate for the lost months. There seems to be an ethical problem here. When it's a strike of two or three days, a maximum of one week, eventual compensation can be considered. But how can six to seven months of classes be compensated in a year of approximately 9 or 10 months? What mechanism will be put in place to ensure the success of the teaching-learning process in such a case?
i) We strike for 7 months of classes, no content has been taught, yet we eagerly await the state exams to participate in correcting candidates' papers. What learning will we evaluate? Isn't this yet another ethical problem? What will we do to repair the irreparable? When Teachers Run Out of Union Rage to Command Respect
The public teaching body faces a depletion of its most powerful force, described above, by maintaining an unlimited strike, which is burning out before their eyes. The power of a weapon is that it is always loaded. The complete discharge of a firearm renders it almost useless in the hands of its owner. Similarly, when one rushes into an unlimited strike, one finds oneself disarmed, to the point that in the face of such police brutality against a respected colleague, nothing can be done. We are out of union action, like a warrior who has overused their ammunition in training or fanciful display, and when war is in full swing, is unable to fire a single cartridge. As the saying goes, 'he who wants to go far, spares his mount.' One might retort that it is not the teachers' fault if the strike drags on; that it is because of the state's deafness and blindness that this situation persists; that, therefore, now, if we have no more cards to play to protest against the barbarity of the police officers, it is precisely because the state pushed us to play all our cards and we have nothing left but our audacity to denounce in traditional media and publish posts expressing our anger while sympathizing with the victimized colleague on social networks. Whereas if we had not already been on a semester-long strike, we could have amplified our rage against this thug who dared to slap a teacher, an educational agent claiming his rights. For rage, this great force, is at the same time our right and our justice. Today, the doors of all schools, public and private, would have been closed until the arrest and judgment of the perpetrators, but for lack of a more responsible attitude and a more moderate use of our strength, we can do nothing substantial to restore the dignity of our colleague, who was humiliated so spectacularly. It's a shame. This should serve as a lesson to us in the long run. A strike is too precious to be used excessively. Thus, due to a lack of creativity, temperance, and moderation, we find ourselves caught between a rock and a hard place, stunned by the deafening silence of our own unending strike just weeks before the close of the 2024-2025 school year.
Jean Willy Belfleur,
Normalien Supérieur (Senior Teacher Training College Graduate),
Censor of the West.
Participation in social life or civic engagement are not natural behaviors. Even within a democratic republic, they are conquered and defended. However, citizenship wears out and withers when neglected. Conversely, it is asserted and developed as soon as it is sought and cultivated. Trade unionism is one of these privileged spaces for democracy and the learning of citizenship. It must necessarily acquire a framework for renewal. All of this justifies a constant need to revitalize trade unionism, as the values it upholds are always in tune with contemporary reality. In other words, it thrives on current events. It follows that trade unionism, in a so-called democratic society, is necessary for the crystallization of citizens' and workers' demands. It is a tool for citizenship. Generally, two perceptions of trade unionism coexist and intertwine. A symbol of collective strength, it would also be an alignment with or a negation of the individual. Therefore, a fundamental question arises: to be strong collectively, must one renounce individual freedom? Means of Action for a Trade Union
Any trade union generally has various means of action to organize its struggle and defend the interests of its members. For example, collective bargaining, strikes, demonstrations, legal assistance, the creation of union sections, lawsuits, etc. All these actions aim to obtain salary improvements, more favorable working conditions, and the protection of employees' rights. To carry out these union actions, unions can fight separately, just as they can federate, confederate, or group together as a union platform. A platform can be more or less specific or occasional. In this sense, unions can form a platform to strengthen their impact on a given demand and then dissociate. Similarly, they can group together as part of their participation in social dialogue and labor reforms. Haitian Trade Unionism and Its Modes of Action
In general, our unions do not have a culture of federation. Ordinarily, they group together as platforms, focusing on occasional demands or as part of their participation in social dialogues, as has been the case in recent years. For example, earlier this year, education sector unions were asked to group together (perhaps by affinity or proximity) to facilitate their participation in the 'social dialogue' relaunched by the incumbent Minister of Education, Mr. Augustin Antoine. Thus, several groupings were formed, such as: CONEHQ, SPEH, CUTRACEPH, etc. And the 'dialogue' was followed by collective bargaining. Agreements were reportedly reached after several discussion sessions, sometimes with the authorities of the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP), and sometimes with the head of government and officials of the said Ministry. Commitments were made at the government level following the launch of the general and unlimited strike by union platforms on January 13, 2025. On January 20, 2025, a commitment agreement was signed between the government and teachers' unions, which included, among other things: regularization and budgeting of qualified classroom teachers, payment of salary arrears, appointment of ENS and CEFEF interns, the granting of a starting card of 15,000 gourdes monthly to all educational agents within a reasonable timeframe, etc. Regarding means of action, unions in the education sector, like those in other sectors, have, moreover, resorted to very few of the aforementioned options. Most often, they content themselves with organizing sit-ins with a few dozen teachers, holding press conferences, publishing protest and challenge notes, undertaking media campaigns, and legal actions. They issue calls for limited strikes which are too often and quite too quickly transformed into general and unlimited strikes in all public schools across the country. Most often, their demands are postponed indefinitely for various reasons:
1) Education is not the priority of this state, which acts solely in the interest of imperialists;
2) Mediocracy predominates in the country;
3) Our leaders are incompetent and obscurantist;
4) Our educational system is an industry of zombification. Beyond these 'state reasons' that lead to the state's inaction towards educational agents in general and teachers in particular, it is also worth mentioning some problems raised by the strike calls of unions, which quite often confuse radicalism and trade unionism when it comes to strikes. Let there be no misunderstanding about the concept of a strike. Fundamentally, a strike is not subversive. But, if demands are not met, it can be transformed into something else – for example, an insurrectional revolt, or even, in certain cases, under the leadership of a true workers' party, into a revolution. But we are not there yet, concerning our country. A strike should be understood primarily as a means of pressure used by unions to assert their demands in case of failed negotiations and conflicts with the employer. It is guaranteed by the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of Haiti in its article 35.3: 'Freedom of association is guaranteed. Any worker in the private and public sectors may join the union of their professional activities for the exclusive defense of their work interests.' A strike being a corollary of trade unionism, this republican constitution simultaneously recognizes the right to strike. Article 35.5 stipulates: 'The right to strike is recognized within the limits determined by law.' The functioning of unions is regulated by the Haitian labor code, particularly in its articles 122 to 128. Four categories of unions are distinguished: a) professional unions, b) company unions, c) industrial unions, and d) mixed unions. Here, we are only interested in the first category (a). We will analyze the case of the general and unlimited strike by teachers' unions, launched on January 13, 2025, in Haiti. This strike has already lasted approximately 5 months, impacting the most disadvantaged, to express demands that are at least very fair and sufficiently justified. With what result? The results are still pending. Meanwhile, we are witnessing the deterioration of the strike under the passive gaze of teachers' unions and in an increasingly deleterious climate. It is the most complete stagnation and inertia of the union platforms. Even the National Teachers' Day, May 17, could not rouse union members from their strike-induced slumber. An unending strike, their sole credo. Meanwhile, a teacher named Williamson Saint-fleur was savagely beaten by individuals in uniform from a tourist unit (Politour) of the Haitian National Police on May 18, 2025, at the Cap-Haitien Cathedral, during the Te Deum sung in honor of the 'state authorities' who were pitifully parading to 'celebrate' the creation of our bicolor flag on May 18, 1803, in Arcahaie. This reprehensible incident occurred on that day, just 48 hours after the celebration of National Teachers' Day. What are we doing (to quote Gaëlle Bien-Aimé)? Strengths and Weaknesses of Teachers' Union Strikes
While a strike is a traditional means of pressure, used in case of failed negotiations or conflicts with the employer to achieve demands, it cannot be a primary measure, an indefinite action, or an immediately unlimited undertaking. Its duration must be gradual. The right to strike, being a fundamental right of constitutional value, nevertheless needs to be reconciled with the essential principle of continuity of public service. A strike must include two cumulative elements:
- a collective and concerted cessation of work;
- defined results to be achieved for the satisfaction of workers' demands (as a true goal). In other words, a strike, by definition, is a concerted cessation of work carried out within an establishment by a group of workers with a view to obtaining the satisfaction of demands presented to their employers, which they make a condition for the resumption of work.
a) unions resort to strikes too quickly, for lack of being able to organize anything else of significant scale;
b) unions, even with a little over thirty thousand (30,000) members, cannot organize a demonstration gathering 500 (five hundred) unionized teachers in a public square to demonstrate strength and gain visibility;
c) to draw a crowd, they need the gracious participation of students. However, there should be specific student organizations, as in the past (during ZEL's time), because students have their own interests, different from those of teachers;
d) unionized teachers strike in the public sector and continue to work in the private sector, which creates a frightening inequity for public sector students;
e) unionized teachers on strike do not set foot in their assigned establishments. Yet, they take advantage of this to attend to their personal activities. (As a censor for thirteen years, I am well-placed to know and confirm this).
f) the state pays better, we demand salary increases, adjustments, and alignment from it, while in the private sector, we are paid less, yet we work quietly without striking. This does not seem fair either;
g) we strike without limits, without any consideration for students and their parents from the most modest popular classes;
h) while striking, we continue to receive our salaries regularly from the public treasury, yet after the strike is lifted, we will not be able to compensate for the lost months. There seems to be an ethical problem here. When it's a strike of two or three days, a maximum of one week, eventual compensation can be considered. But how can six to seven months of classes be compensated in a year of approximately 9 or 10 months? What mechanism will be put in place to ensure the success of the teaching-learning process in such a case?
i) We strike for 7 months of classes, no content has been taught, yet we eagerly await the state exams to participate in correcting candidates' papers. What learning will we evaluate? Isn't this yet another ethical problem? What will we do to repair the irreparable? When Teachers Run Out of Union Rage to Command Respect
The public teaching body faces a depletion of its most powerful force, described above, by maintaining an unlimited strike, which is burning out before their eyes. The power of a weapon is that it is always loaded. The complete discharge of a firearm renders it almost useless in the hands of its owner. Similarly, when one rushes into an unlimited strike, one finds oneself disarmed, to the point that in the face of such police brutality against a respected colleague, nothing can be done. We are out of union action, like a warrior who has overused their ammunition in training or fanciful display, and when war is in full swing, is unable to fire a single cartridge. As the saying goes, 'he who wants to go far, spares his mount.' One might retort that it is not the teachers' fault if the strike drags on; that it is because of the state's deafness and blindness that this situation persists; that, therefore, now, if we have no more cards to play to protest against the barbarity of the police officers, it is precisely because the state pushed us to play all our cards and we have nothing left but our audacity to denounce in traditional media and publish posts expressing our anger while sympathizing with the victimized colleague on social networks. Whereas if we had not already been on a semester-long strike, we could have amplified our rage against this thug who dared to slap a teacher, an educational agent claiming his rights. For rage, this great force, is at the same time our right and our justice. Today, the doors of all schools, public and private, would have been closed until the arrest and judgment of the perpetrators, but for lack of a more responsible attitude and a more moderate use of our strength, we can do nothing substantial to restore the dignity of our colleague, who was humiliated so spectacularly. It's a shame. This should serve as a lesson to us in the long run. A strike is too precious to be used excessively. Thus, due to a lack of creativity, temperance, and moderation, we find ourselves caught between a rock and a hard place, stunned by the deafening silence of our own unending strike just weeks before the close of the 2024-2025 school year.
Jean Willy Belfleur,
Normalien Supérieur (Senior Teacher Training College Graduate),
Censor of the West.
