Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Paying a Living Wage

The minimum wage in the Dominican Republic is 83 cents (U.S.) per hour. There is a new factory in Villa Altagracia that pays its workers three times the minimum wage. They even allowed the factory to be unionized. The owners of the factory, Knights Apparel, has decided that this factory should pay a living wage. The New York Times has run an article exploring the pros and cons. There is also a great photo slide show with audio.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

BRAVO! And thank you Anthony for sharing this great story. I pray that the experiment that Knights Apparel has embarked on works and is sustainable. Just one question. What is a 'living wage' in the DR?

strong4u said...

Knights Apparel is doing the right thing and they will still make a fortune!

Anonymous said...

that's great news an average full time domestic lady here cost less than having a once a week cleaning lady in New York and the cost of living is not as cheap as people think it is, great initiative and thanks for sharing