Women in the Honduran Melon Industry - International Labor Rights ...
Women in the Honduran Melon Industry - International Labor Rights ...
Women in the Honduran Melon Industry - International Labor Rights ...
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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSIn <strong>in</strong>terviews with 310 <strong>Honduran</strong> female melon workers and fifteen separate group meet<strong>in</strong>gs, COSIBAH identified laborrights violations <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> areas of temporary and precarious employment, wage violations, unsafe and <strong>in</strong>humane work<strong>in</strong>gconditions, and failure to provide social security benefits.COSIBAH attributes <strong>the</strong> deplorable work<strong>in</strong>g conditions suffered by <strong>the</strong> workers primarily to <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>difference of meloncompanies. Without stronger recourse by <strong>the</strong> <strong>Honduran</strong> government and public pressure by <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational community,melon workers will not escape from <strong>the</strong>ir lives of exploitation and extreme poverty.The follow<strong>in</strong>g table outl<strong>in</strong>es some recommendations that COSIBAH and <strong>the</strong> ILRF believe are necessary to address <strong>the</strong>violations mentioned above.ADDRESS ACTORS ACTIONSTemporary, Precarious <strong>Labor</strong> <strong>Melon</strong> Companies • Adopt a hir<strong>in</strong>g scheme that offers long-term employmentto workers• Strictly enforce documentation requirements for jobapplicants and do not contract with children• Comply with all national standards for employment,<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> prohibition of pregnancy test<strong>in</strong>g• Enter <strong>in</strong>to formal employment contracts with workersand ensure that all workers receive a formal appo<strong>in</strong>tmentletter sett<strong>in</strong>g out <strong>the</strong> terms of <strong>the</strong>ir contract• Fully disclose to employees all terms of work contractsand ensure that <strong>the</strong>y understand <strong>the</strong>m by review<strong>in</strong>gcontract terms verbally <strong>in</strong> consideration of illiterateemployees and publically post<strong>in</strong>g labor rights and applicableCode of Conduct <strong>in</strong>formationTemporary, Precarious <strong>Labor</strong> <strong>Honduran</strong> Government • Ensure that every worker is documented <strong>in</strong> formalwritten employment contracts and that all workers receivea copy of <strong>the</strong>ir contract• Perform regular monitor<strong>in</strong>g visits to plantations <strong>in</strong> orderto verify appropriate company documentation of employeesand <strong>in</strong>clude <strong>in</strong>dependent <strong>in</strong>terviews with workers <strong>in</strong>order to formulate an unbiased assessment of companycompliance with labor laws• Develop and implement tougher repercussions for laborviolations: <strong>in</strong>crementally <strong>in</strong>crease f<strong>in</strong>es for violations and<strong>in</strong>troduce serious non-monetary punishments for noncompliance,such as clos<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> plantationTemporary, Precarious <strong>Labor</strong> COSIBAH/Unions • Work with labor unions <strong>in</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r regional agriculturalsectors <strong>in</strong> order to demand that employers comply withlabor rightsINTERNATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS FORUMWOMEN IN THE HONDURAN MELON INDUSTRY12