Santo Domingo – Eliseo Cristopher, president of the Dominican Confederation of Micro, Small, and Medium Construction Companies (COPYMECON), has commended the General Directorate of Migration (DGM) for its recent efforts to curb irregular migration, particularly among Haitian nationals. However, he warned that more needs to be done to protect the stability of the construction sector, which depends heavily on Haitian labor.
Cristopher stressed that without a steady supply of Haitian workers, the industry could face serious setbacks. “If we don’t have a Haitian workforce, construction will inevitably slow down, resulting in multimillion-dollar losses,” he cautioned.
While acknowledging the government’s initiative to regularize the status of around 100,000 Haitian nationals, Cristopher said the measure falls far short of what is needed. He likened it to “throwing a grain of corn into a farm with 100,000 chickens,” emphasizing the scale of the challenge.
To address the labor shortage more effectively, Cristopher proposed issuing renewable six-month work permits to as many as 400,000 Haitian migrants. These permits, he suggested, should be tailored to match the evolving needs of the construction industry.
At the same time, Cristopher highlighted the importance of reducing reliance on undocumented labor over the long term. He urged greater investment in vocational training programs for Dominican workers to build a more self-sufficient and resilient workforce.
