Beyond Glass Ceilings and Brick Walls - International Labour ...

muster at 7.a.m… When she reports for muster, she is told which field she
will be working in … if she is late reporting to work, she might be chased
away by the overseer in charge … and thereby denied a full day’s wage …
Allowances might be made if the woman is pregnant by allowing her to make
up for lost time by working late … But this places pressure on the worker ‘to
get things done’. Following muster, the woman collects her basket and
walks sometimes several miles to the field of work … They pluck leaves
continuously until 12 noon under the gaze of the overseer ... During the one
hour she is free before she returns back to work, the worker tries to do
numerous domestic tasks (if possible) … At 1 p.m. the monotonous and
always repetitive work of plucking tea buds/leaves continues - regardless of
wind or rain … The overseer reprimands/penalizes women if they pluck mature
leaves instead of the buds … and the work goes on till around 5.30 p.m. on
days where there is an abundance to be plucked … 4.30 on other days …
After the plucker carries the leaves to a central spot or weighing shed to be
weighed, she returns home at around 6 p.m. But her work for the day is not
over …” (Kurian: 1985)
The situation described gives an insight into the powerlessness experienced
by this group of workers, and how they are weighed down not only with
long and arduous hours of physical work, but also with family obligations
and domestic work. These multiple gender-based expectations from women
can cause tensions between a woman’s responsibilities at home and at her
workplace.
This is especially true of work practices that necessitate employees (both
women and men) to work late, or attend meetings after work, or insist on
their presence at evening/night functions, or company fellowship activities
that exclude family members. These requirements can impose a tremendous
strain on family relationships not only of women, but also of men.
59% of these women employees had to work late: a majority until 8.00
p.m., though some workers had to stay on until after 9.00 p.m. Of this,
24% of the workers were asked to stay for meetings. However, only 16%
were provided transport by the workplace.
Whether employees were requested to attend meetings after-hours seems
to depend on the size of the company/the type of trade and the category of
work. In the case of most questionnaire respondents, meetings took place
during working hours - possibly due to the fact that the respondents were
not associated with management.
Given the deficiencies in the local transport systems and the additional
personal risk associated with getting about in the night for women, certain
companies have adopted positive policies in regard to employees working
late. These, though, are confined to crucial administrative job categories
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