Women in the Honduran Melon Industry - International Labor Rights ...

WORKING CONDITIONSNearly 70% of the women regularly work longer thaneight hours a day, 41% of them without overtimecompensation.Overtime work, both in the form of nineplushour workdays and six- or seven-day workweeks, isnot optional but expected. Melon companies capitalizeon the shortage of work and desperate condition ofthe Choluteca population to drive salaries down andwork hours up. A majority of the women surveyed donot receive compensation for working Sundays (theirsupposed day of rest) or for working holidays. Oneworker said, “They are shameless. Sometimes they don’tpay us in full, telling us that the computer messed up, thatit’s not their fault and that if we try to complain, they’llfire us and will not hire us again.”Melon companies have such a great influence overthe local government and economy that they do noteven attempt to hide their corrupt wage and overtimepractices. Between 2009 and 2011, the CholutecaMinistry of Labor inspected affiliates or branches ofall four of the major melon-export companies. Everysingle company was cited for failure to producevalid worker contracts and/or failure to payminimum wage and overtime hours. Industry leaderOKRA SUR was visited twice during this period and wascited both times for failure to reform wage violations.Suragroh, owned by transnational fruit company Fyffes,has paid a 90,000 lempiras ($4700) fine several times,but workers report that it prefers to pay these smallsums rather than reform its policies to comply with theminimum wage and other labor laws.“Representatives of the Ministry of Labor are themelon companies’ unconditional lackeys because of theeconomic power of that they possess. For that reason,there is no respect for labor laws, no recognition of socialsecurity dues, no Sunday pay, no safety and sanitation,no written contracts, no internal supervision of work, noemployee registration -- in essence, nothing.”~COSIBAH investigator German ZepedaThe dominant companies’ collective decision to ignorecitations and openly defy labor laws makes it nearlyimpossible for workers to demand fair wages. Withoutthe support of the government and with no labor unionrepresentation, melon workers have little chance forrecourse. Workers cite cases in which employees werefired for attempting to obtain their owed wages withwork vouchers. Others note occasions of apparentblacklisting, incidents of outspoken workers not beingable to find work the following season – either with theirformer employer, or with any other melon company.Unable to address these problems with their employersand with no support from authorities, workers are left ina seemingly hopeless situation.“I don’t think that this will ever change, because theowners of the plantations do whatever they want withtheir workers, and the Ministry of Labor does nothingwhen they visit -- all they do is tell us off, tell us that wemust be responsible workers.”~Anonymous WorkerChild LaborAlthough the investigation did not uncover significantcases of child labor, workers acknowledged that minorsare seen on farms in the area, without the permissionof the Ministry of Labor. The long hours and overlystrenuous conditions that workers in the fields face areespecially hard on minors. The extreme poverty of theregion makes it difficult for many of these children to stayin school, and they find themselves forced to work tosupport their families.It is true that it is technically against company policyto contract child labor. After the last harvesting season,women were notified that they would not be hired unlessthey possessed identification indicating they are of age.However, one must question the sincerity of this sort ofpolicy. COSIBAH notes that it is not uncommon for manyboys and girls to borrow documentation from adultsduring the hiring process, a practice that the companyrecognizes but turn a blind eye to. Working contractsgiven to minors are usually subject to some kind ofstipulation, for example having built up friendship or trustwith supervisors. Reports published by the Ministry ofLabor in the region confirm that melon companies arecontinuing to hire children.INTERNATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS FORUMWOMEN IN THE HONDURAN MELON INDUSTRY10