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WOMEN IN INDUSTRIES AND ESTATE PLANTATION

Cognizant of the key role workers play in the economy of a country, the women workers’ plight must be linked with the general workers’ struggle within the context of the total emancipation of the society from oppressive economic and political structures.

Similarities and differences in the working and living conditions of industrial and estate workers in the Asian countries represented in this workshop are shown in the table below. The differences lie mostly in the following:

1. Type of work done- skilled industrial workers are directly involved with production of finished goods while the estate workers are producers of raw materials or unfinished goods (coconut, rubber, etc.) which do not need skilled labour.

2. Location of work- urban workers have definite working and health facilities while estate workers are often deprived of such facilities.

3. System of work- women workers in industries have a more systematised, organised and socialised pattern of producing goods, i.e. each production line contributes to the finishing of certain goods (e.g. pattern making to sewing). The estate workers in plantations work in individualised manner since they deal with raw materials. The more collectivised the production of goods is, the more the workers feel the intensity and need to resist such dehumanising situations.

Women Workers in Industries	Estate Workers
Income: 65% - Minimum level 10% - Apprentices receiving less than the full emergency living allowance Living Conditions: Housing - rented rooms Health condition - frequently suffer from illnesses, common	Low income level, lower than the minimum set for workers in engineering, building & transport sectors. Health facilities available are primitive; Personnel not quail-
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Women Workers in Industries	Estate Workers
occurrences of miscarriages. Educational Levels: 80% - Elementary graduates 18% - Secondary school graduates 2% - College graduates Working Conditions: Work from Monday to Saturday with overtime of 1-3 hours a day. A worker said they have no choice but to work overtime; a refusal means a shift of operation. No eating nor Conversation during work hours; only a 15-minute break and an hour lunch recess. Other companies give half hour-break. Lack of job security because of lack of formal contract. A worker can be laid off very easily. Workers removed because they were active members of labour unions. Shortened maternity leave. Unfair treatment, overly strict supervision of workers and poor management policies. Most workers are union members and perceive unions as best means of protecting their rights. Also agreed that strike is valuable in protecting the welfare of workers.	fied. Many workers suffer from anemia due to poor nutritional level, which, in turn, causes high mortality rate among children. Education level only up primary grades. Denial of proper education to estate workers’ children is a cause of their continued exploitation as cheap labour. Income fluctuates from month to month depending on the number of actual days work. During the slack season, the number of working days is reduced. Transport- workers have to trudge daily to their work sites by foot for public transport facilities are not available in their places. Scarcity of food supply from the cooperative store. Jobs not available outside. Workers exposed to elements- scorching sun, mist or the rain. Without covering, their feet are cut and bruised by the tea bushes. Longer working hours than male counterparts. Trade unions have fought for social and political demands. But they have done nothing to awaken the workers’ consciousness.
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Demands: Cry for higher wage, full allowance and fringe benefits. Improve physical working conditions.	Equal pay for equal work. Higher and stable wages would mean increased family income. Intensive awareness building.

ANALYSIS OF THE WORKERS PROBLEMS

Economic Factors. The present export-oriented policy in a foreign-dominated economy as in most of the countries in Asia like the Philippines and Sri Lanka treats workers not as human beings but as tools to accumulate more profits from and through them. Workers in garment factories in the Philippines are forced to cope with a stiff quota imposed on them by the management. In most cases, the pressure of work leads to miscarriages among pregnant workers. A tea plantation worker in Sri Lanka has to pick 15 kilos of broken leaves to obtain her daily wage. And yet they do not earn even the minimum legal wage. The low income level greatly affects the quality of nutritional in-take of the workers, particularly because they are both mothers and housewives. It has been noted that culturally, an Indian Tamil woman eats last in the family, getting only the leftovers. The deficiency in their food intake is reflected in the high mortality rate among women workers.

Political Factors. The collusion between foreign monopoly capitalists and the local governments is very obvious. This is seen in the policies (export-oriented), decrees and general orders issued and strictly implemented at the expense of the workers. In the Philippines at the onset of martial law, the influx of foreign investors has been permitted precisely to earn more dollars and the open door policy has been attracting more foreign investors into the country because of cheap labour. In most Asian countries, the government even goes to the extent of banning strikes and the freedom to unionise.

Cultural Factors. A high level of illiteracy has been noted among estate workers. This fact has been exploited by the government and management in continuing their deprivation of their full and just wages and in putting them under harsh and the worst working and living conditions. Children are often forced to work to supplement the working and earning capacity of their parents.

Somehow religion has become a part of domesticating

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women and in justifying the dehumanised condition of women workers. Religious beliefs have been instrumental in perpetuating the inequality of men and women, particularly in the realm of work. Fatalism, surrender to God’s will, has crept into the minds of women workers, making it more difficult for them to transcend their situation as workers.

The inter-relationship of economic, political and cultural systems is clearly seen. Thus, women workers struggle becomes inseparable from the total struggle of the oppressed class in a society.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Education for the workers: a) formal education for the children, b) intensive non-formal education for the adults, c) awareness building among workers on genuine trade unionism, in-depth political awareness (study on genuine trade unions, in-depth study of workers’ key role in the economy, an understanding of the basic issues confronting society), and d) organise special seminars on self-help projects like sewing classes for women.

2. Organise support groups to work with labour unions and organisations like a consumers’ movement, etc.

3. Raise economic struggle to political struggle even in the midst of difficulties as in many countries in the region strikes and genuine trade unions are banned.