Plenary – Women Worker Rights in Agriculture: The Reality, Challenges and Opportunities

Plenary – Women Worker Rights in Agriculture: The Reality, Challenges and Opportunities

Jul 30, 2013

Union leaders from Latin America and the Middle East discussed the hardships and opportunities for female agriculture workers. Photo: Matt Hersey

Union leaders from Latin America and the Middle East discussed the hardships and opportunities for female agriculture workers. Credit: Matt Hersey

Plenary

Women Worker Rights in Agriculture: The Reality, Challenges and Opportunities

Panelists
• Rosa Julia Perez Aguilar, Secretary of Women’s, Child and Adolescent Affairs, Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Empresa Camposal, Peru
• Iris Munguía, Coordinator, Latin American Banana and Agro-Industrial Unions, Honduras
• Touriya Lahrech, Executive Office/Coordinator of Women Department, Confederation Democratique du Travail, Morocco
• Alessandra da Costa Lunes, Vice President and Women’s Security, CONTAG, Brazil

Moderator
• Samantha Tate, Solidarity Center Country Program Director for Peru

Samantha Tate set the stage for the discussion on women in the agro-industry, one of the conference’s three themes, by pointing out how women’s increasing presence in agriculture offers both challenges and opportunities. Working in large scale agriculture creates a whole new set of risks for women, Tate said, including increased sexual harassment and a work model that turns women into machines. But the agriculture industry also offers women the opportunity to have a job, which can enable them to provide their children with an education with the goal of improving their lives and livelihoods.

Rosa Julia Perez Aguilar began her overview of the working conditions for women agricultural workers in Peru by saying that although the agriculture sector “grows and grows, we as workers are not growing.” Salaries are so low in this industry, children are forced to work and so are denied an education. Perez Aguilar said the average monthly salary for a female agricultural worker in Peru is $234 per month—while the basic cost of living for a family of five is $546 per month. Women are not paid overtime, and end up working 10 to 12 hours a day.

Unions are seeking employer provision of child care because women agriculture workers who are also the family breadwinners go to work at 4 a.m., and leave their children with neighbors, often exposing them to a lot of violence. These workers also have little access to good quality health care.

At the workplace, women experience many labor rights violations, including job loss because of pregnancy and no paid maternity leave if they do not achieve work targets. Women are often sexually harassed by supervisors but do not report it because they do not want to lose their jobs. They are subject to age discrimination—“after a certain age, women’s contracts are not renewed”—and employers favor men with work, sending women home.

Describing working conditions in the agro-industry, Perez Aguilar said health and safety protections are not sufficient, –for instance, when using sharp tools—and “if we suffer an accident, it’s very rare we get any assistance.” Drinking water is not readily available, and “especially in summer, we suffer a lot.” Women must walk long distances to find drinking water.

Perez Aguilar concluded by noting that in 2012, her union was among nine that joined together as a confederation, FENYAGRO, with the aim of coordinating efforts among unions to pass laws to improve working conditions for agricultural workers, at the regional and national levels.

See the full presentation. (Spanish)

Iris Munguía overviewed her work among women working in the banana and pineapple sectors of Honduras, where she is based, and in several other Latin American countries where she now has broadened her outreach. Munguia worked 22 years at a fruit packing plant and now heads the Honduran banana and agricultural worker confederation, COSIBAH (Coordinadora Sindicatos Bananeros y Agroindustrales de Honduras), founded in 1993. Munguía also is the first female coordinator of COLSIBA, the Latin American coordinating body of agricultural unions.

Munguía described working conditions similar to those Perez Aguilar outlined: Women agricultural workers typically face long work days, and although working hours increase, wages do not. Women’s contact with pesticides often lead to miscarriages, she said, and illiteracy is also an issue.

Achieving better wages and working conditions for Honduran agricultural workers required reaching out across the border: In 2004, union leaders in Central and South America came together to craft a regional agenda, and they meet every two years to refine it. The coordinating body, COLSIBA, has a standard contract template with 20 clauses that address women’s specific concerns. When a union in one of the participating nations goes to the bargaining table, women can use the contract template as a tool, adapting it to meet their specific situations. Central American agricultural unions also partnered with the global union federation, the International Union of Food Workers (IUF) for greater international exposure of working conditions on plantations and in packing and processing plants.

Munguía has focused extensively on leadership training among women, and more women now are on negotiating committees. As a result, women now negotiate contracts in the Spanish feminine form as well as in the masculine, because employers have taken advantage of contracts written in the masculine form to leave women out of receiving benefits. Women also have negotiated access to sanitary napkins, which men had refused to negotiate because they found the topic embarrassing.

They also are making inroads in addressing sexual harassment on the job. COLSIBA and the IUF negotiated a Regional Framework Agreement with Chiquita, finalized in August, that includes a zero tolerance policy for workplace sexual harassment.

Munguía emphasized the importance of committing to paper the gains women make so they will be there for future generations. “These advances allow women to put things in writing,” she said. “We have to enhance the vision of women and the work that we do.”

Munguía was the subject of a 2005 study by scholar Dana Frank, Bananeras: Women Transforming the Banana Unions of Latin America, which explores how women banana workers gained control over their unions, workplaces and lives. She referenced Bananeras and also showed a book compiled by women agricultural workers which includes the personal testimonies of rape survivors.

“Words spoken are often taken by the wind, but if we write them down, they will be there for future generations.” She continued: “The important thing of all this, brothers and sisters … is how the good things we are able to achieve, we have to trade them among ourselves to strengthen ourselves.”

See the full presentation. (Spanish)
Read the Regional Framework Agreement with Chiquita/ (Spanish)

Touriya Lahrech began by expressing her solidarity with conference participants. “The moment we go back to our countries, I will tell my colleagues and sisters we are not alone. Our solidarity as women coming from across the globe can only move forward our positions as women.”

Lahrech then described the life of women agricultural workers in North Africa as “poverty on top of poverty.” The majority of women in agriculture come from extremely poor families who did not have a chance to get education and so there is widespread illiteracy and a lack of skills. Despite a “raft of labor laws” and even though nations such as Morocco and Tunisia have ratified ILO conventions protecting workers, agricultural workers lack basic conditions, and women always remain in the same low-paying, back-breaking jobs they start in, she said.

Women in this region also must suffer in silence: “They should be silent and shy and not even look into the eyes of men.” Yet in reality, women are strong. Lahrech described an agriculture strike in which workers and union leaders were arrested, so women went to the front lines with their children to block the police from arresting the men. As a result, they achieved some improvements in social insurance coverage.

Like Munguía, Lahrech emphasized illiteracy as a significant barrier to women’s self-advancement. Unions found that women were not attending union-sponsored trainings because of literacy problems. “So instead of using conventional means of lecturing, we used pictures and participation was higher,” Lahrech said. Even through pictures, union trainers could explain such difficult topics as the role of world financial institutions in local economies like Morocco, as well as discuss ILO conventions.

The workshops, held with the Solidarity Center, trained women who went on to train other women in remote villages, educating them that worker rights are civic rights. Some of these women are now negotiating first contracts with employers who had fought unionization.

Alessandra da Costa Lunes began by noting that her confederation, CONTAG, represents 22 million workers in 3,900 unions and 27 union federations. She coordinates family agricultural workers and working peasants for CONTAG, which is seeking to replicate its National Women’s Commission at all regional levels. Other items on CONTAG’s agenda include working with young people to change patriarchal structures that inhibit women and young workers; fighting the invisibility of women; and ensuring technical training and other public policies reach women who may work in such remote areas that they are not aware of their rights on such issues as sexual harassment.  Some 48 percent of rural workers are women, she said, and 25 percent of rural population is made up of young women between ages 18 and 34.

“Slave labor is constantly growing in Brazil,” she said, and “families are expelled from land by global corporations.” She noted that Maria Dias Costa, the wife of a union president who was murdered, is just one example of women left without husbands who are targeted for their union activity. Local unions often are all female because the men have been murdered or don’t want to be in a union for fear of experiencing violence.

Last March, 100,000 women joined in the March of the Margaridas, named in honor of a sister lost in the field. The march was part of women’s efforts to break the invisibility surrounding violence. The women demanded policy changes to ensure equal treatment of men’s and women’s issues. Women also are bringing their demands to the bargaining table, and this also gives them visibility.

She noted that Brazil has much good legislation, including laws prohibiting violence against women. “We’ve managed to advance a lot,” she said. Still, the challenge remains to break the silence that give impunity to those who commit violent acts and to protect women from violence. “Overcoming inequality will mean full citizenship for women,” she said, concluding with the rally call:

“We are fierce, fighting women.”

Read the full presentation. (Portuguese)

Public Employees Challenge Anti-Union Civil Service Law in Peru

Jul 26, 2013

Peru Map.wawawasifoundationPublic-sector workers in Peru are challenging a new civil service law that eliminates the right of more than 500,000 public administration workers to collectively negotiate salaries, narrows the definition of the type of unions they may establish and prevents “essential service” unions from striking (without defining essential services). The law also sets up a punitive annual evaluation process and provides government agencies with numerous justifications for downsizing, which public employees fear could lead to mass layoffs.

Congress passed Law 30057 earlier this month amid a flurry of last-minute action, surprising union leaders and progressive legislators who had crafted a compromise bill that never made it to a full vote.

When union members and their allies called for repeal of the law during peaceful marches across the country, police tear-gassed crowds, including those in Arequipa, the seat of Peru’s constitutional court. Union members are now collecting signatures to reopen congressional debate on the law and are preparing a complaint for the International Labor Organization (ILO). They also will march in July 27 rallies commemorating Peruvian independence. (Take action: Tell the president of Peru you won’t stand for the erosion of worker rights!)

In addition, public administration unions are engaging with consumer activist groups and other civil society organizations to build a shared understanding of how the law adversely impacts access to quality public services. Peruvian unions are sharing with the public how privatizing public services not only undermines quality and affordability, but also destroys public employees’ fundamental rights on the job, including access to a career path based on training opportunities.

Legislators, including a majority of the governing party, voted for the law despite concerns raised by their colleagues and public-sector unions, and the findings of an ILO technical report. The ILO found that the law suffers from an assumption that the exercise of collective rights is inherently against the public’s interest.

Peru’s public administration union federations affiliated with the Central General de Trabajadores del Peru (CGTP), along with other public-sector unions, sought dialogue with the newly formed public sector labor agency, SERVIR, after discussions about the new law began last year. Union federations affiliated with CGTP include the Intersectoral Confederation of State Workers (CITE), the Confederation of State Employees (CTE) and the National Association of State Sector Unions (UNASSE).

In coordination with global union federation, Public Service International (PSI), and the Solidarity Center, public administration workers from across Peru held forums in December 2012 to generate proposals for the law and have met regularly since, generating awareness and activism, particularly as the debates in Congress have heated up.

Honduras: Death Threats Against Union Activist, Radio Host

Jul 15, 2013

Over the last two weeks, anonymous callers have threatened the life of long-time Honduran union leader and radio talk show host José María Martínez, whose vocal support for the rights of banana and other agricultural workers has made him a target.

For the past 20 years, Martínez, head of communications with the Honduran federation of agro-industrial unions, FESTAGRO, has hosted a daily radio show called “Trade Unionist on Air,” which features discussions about labor and human rights, including an opportunity for agricultural workers to call in and ask about abusive workplaces, labor standards and rights violations.

Since September 2012, Martínez has been working closely with workers at the Tres Hermanas banana plantations as they pushed to win a collective bargaining agreement in the face of harsh employer repression, including the firing of workers for their union activity. Since May, the struggle of the Tres Hermanas workers has been a frequent topic on his radio program.

On multiple occasions and with increasing frequency, unidentified callers have phoned Martínez and his family demanding that he shut his mouth or they will do it for him. He was told: “Prepare your burial clothes because we are going to kill you.”

On July 5, those threats escalated as a car without license plates staked out Radio Progreso, home to “Trade Unionist on Air.” The vehicle circle Martínez’s place of work four times at the hour Martinez was getting off air. He was forced to escape through a back exit, escorted by Father Ismael Moreno, the Catholic priest who serves as the director for Radio Progreso.

Local police have warned Martinez not to leave his home without first notifying them for his own protection.

According to FESTAGRO, since 2009, 31 trade unionists, 52 rural workers and 28 journalists have been murdered in Honduras.

Peruvian Unions Build Global Support for Repeal of Textile Law

Jul 3, 2013

Peruvian textile unions are gaining broad international support for repeal of a law that limits garment worker rights. The 1978 law subjects workers to temporary contracts without the right to collectively bargain, strike or join a union. Between 80 and 100 percent of the country’s textile workers are on short-term contracts, an employment tactic that enables employers in Peru and around to world deny workers job security, seniority rights and health benefits, often while paying them low wages.

Since passage of the law, Peru’s textile industry has grown by 2,000 percent, yet garment workers sometimes labor up to 14 hours a day to earn a minimum wage, which represents only a quarter of what they need to survive.

“Some people … have worked 25 years on temporary contracts of six months or less,” said IndustriALL General Secretary Jyrki Raina, during a recent trip to Peru to meet with employers, government officials and lawmakers to call for repeal of the law. In March, six international apparel companies signed a letter to Peruvian President Ollanta Humala Tassosupporting repeal of the Non-Traditional Export Promotion Law, Decree 22342. The corporations, which include Nike and the parent companies of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, argued that the law’s repeal would demonstrate the government’s support for decent working conditions.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) has repeatedly urged the government to repeal the law, a move supported by the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGWLF), the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) and the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers (ICEM).

Raina and the global union movement also are urging the Peruvian Congress to pass a bill introduced more than a year ago that would ensure equal rights for textile and garment workers. The bill is stuck in a congressional committee.

In 2011, a court ruled in favor of 129 textile workers whose contracts were not renewed, finding that some of the workers had worked up to 10 years on short-term contracts. In the ruling, the judge stated that Decree 22342 and its “exceptional” short-term contracting scheme were no longer necessary to support the growth of the country’s textile and apparel sector.

In fact, Peru has pledged to double its textile and apparel exports—which make up 60 percent of Peru’s value-added exports—by 201

U.S. Trade Decision Key Step for Bangladesh Worker Rights

U.S. Trade Decision Key Step for Bangladesh Worker Rights

Jun 28, 2013

Workers in Bangladesh—especially millions of poorly paid garment workers who often risk their lives in dangerous factories—won a new tool to advance their rights when the United States suspended preferential trade benefits with the country.

Yesterday’s announcement that the United States suspended its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) agreement with Bangladesh based on chronic and severe labor rights violations “is a rare and clear statement that affirms that worker rights and livelihoods are not expendable,” says Solidarity Center Executive Director Shawna Bader-Blau.

Because the benefits are suspended and not terminated, Bangladesh has the opportunity to again qualify for the GSP benefit by improving worker rights, laws and practices.  A key measure of that program will be whether newly registered unions will be allowed to represent  worker interests.

“Since 2005, over 1,800 workers have died in preventable factory fires and building collapses in the Bangladesh garment industry,” says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. “Workers died because the government and industry violated safety standards to cut costs, while global apparel brands demanded production at the lowest prices in the world. Bangladesh’s workers, many of them young women, need good jobs with strong worker protections, a voice at work and safe work places.”

Many of Bangladesh’s 4 million garment workers risk their lives every day, working in thousands of unregulated and often poorly constructed factories. Yet despite their contribution to the $19 billion garment industry, they are denied workplace rights and toil in workplace conditions reminiscent of the U.S. sweatshops of 100 years ago.

“This long-awaited decision is an important step for workers’ rights,” says International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) General Secretary Sharan Burrow. “It sends a strong statement to all governments and employers that violation of the fundamental rights of workers will not be tolerated if a country expects to participate in the global economy.”

Although the Bangladesh government has for years talked about improving the situation for workers, in the past 15 months:

• Aminul Islam, a labor leader, was killed and his murder has gone unsolved.
• The Rana Plaza collapse killed more than 1,127 garment workers in April.
• The November Tazreen Fashions fire killed at least 112 garment workers.
• More than 45 fire incidents have occurred at Bangladeshi garment factories since Tazreen, according to data compiled by Solidarity Center staff in Dhaka, the capital.

The ITUC and AFL-CIO are calling on the government of Bangladesh to act urgently and deliberately to ensure that the rights of workers are respected in law and in practice. Bangladesh unions and worker rights advocates from around the world also are calling on corporations throughout the supply chain to sign and implement a binding agreement regarding workplace fire and building safety in Bangladesh.

The proposed Fire and Building Safety Agreement, already accepted by more than 60 major brands, guarantees worker participation, recognizes the role of government and takes measures to combat corruption by requiring rigorous inspections, transparent reporting of audits and public oversight of results.

For more than 15 years, the Solidarity Center has supported worker rights in Bangladesh.

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