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

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYRecent reforms to the melon industry have createdhigher product quality standards, but have failed toimprove labor standards. Workers in the melon industryremain subjected to precarious employment, unsafeworking conditions and wages that are both illegally andunethically low.The situation is especially pronounced for the 25,000melon workers in southern Honduras. In an attemptto remain profitable amidst growing competition fromMexican producers, Honduran companies have lookedto cut production costs. All too often, however, thesecost cutting strategies come at the expense of theirworkers. For the thousands of predominantly female,poor, uneducated melon workers this means twelve tofourteen hour work days, seven days a week; salariesbelow minimum wage with no overtime pay; exposure todangerous chemicals and inhumane working conditions;and no access to social security.This report presents key findings of COSIBAH’s(Coordinadora de Sindicatos Bananeros yAgroindustriales de Honduras) research into theworking conditions of female melon workers in southernHonduras. This report also serves as a call to action,suggesting ways in which workers’ rights to fair wagesand decent working conditions may be brought to thefore of melon companies’ corporate strategy, governmentprerogative, and consumer consciousness.WagesCOSIBAH discovered that over 85% of female melonworkers receive less than the minimum wage. Inaddition, 69% of these women work overtime hours forwhich nearly half of them are not paid, and the majoritywork Sundays and holidays without pay. The Honduranminimum wage for farmworkers is 112.33 lempiras(US$5.90) per day; however, the majority of melonworkers scrape by on well below a dollar a day perperson for the average family of six.Temporary EmploymentMelon farming is seasonal work, and almost all labor ishired on contracts of six months or less. Despite thebrevity of the contract, most women return to work onthe same plantation year after year. In keeping contractsshort-term, employers are able to maintain the upperhand on workers, with the threat of not renewingemployment the next season. Temporary contractsalso make it difficult for melon workers to organizeand collectively claim their rights. Melon workersthus become more vulnerable to hazardous workingconditions and sub-minimum wages.Working ConditionsDays are long for melon workers: most report workingtwelve to fourteen hour days and just over half receivea break for lunch. Only 30% of workers interviewedare provided with potable water, restroom facilities, orcafeterias. Most of the workers are employed in thecutting of melons from the vine, but despite frequentexposure to strong chemical fertilizers and insecticides,scarcely half of them receive protective equipment orappropriate safety training. As a result, many workerssuffer from work-related illnesses and injuries.Social SecurityMelon companies are required to pay into Social Securityand guarantee that their employees have access to itsbenefits. Currently, melon companies are disregardingthis law and their workers are suffering the consequences.Without social security benefits, women are forced to usethe company’s medical facilities, leading to illegal layoffswithout compensation for pregnancy or work-relatedinjury.A Call to ActionThis report calls on melon companies to reform theirpractices to align with national law and internationallabor standards. Companies’ desires to reduce costsshould not take precedence over their obligation toprovide a safe and fair working environment. TheHonduran government should not bow to the economicstrength of powerful agricultural companies. Instead,monitoring commissions should identify abuses and holdthe responsible companies accountable. Committeesand organizations that fight for workers’ rights must beprotected so that they can freely promote labor andhuman rights.INTERNATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS FORUMWOMEN IN THE HONDURAN MELON INDUSTRY2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe international community successfully achieved theimplementation and monitoring of consumer healthstandards in the melon industry. The same preoccupationfor consumers’ safety should extend to the health, safetyand well-being of the individuals whose hard work bringsmelons to our homes.COSIBAH, A Labor Rights WatchdogCoordinating Body of Banana and Agroindustrial Workers’ Unions(COSIBAH), was founded in 1994 and has documented workingconditions and educated farmworkers in southern Hondurassince 2007. Their team of researchers designed and carried outa comprehensive worker survey in Choluteca. They individuallysurveyed 310 female melon workers and conducted fifteenseparate meetings with community leaders and focus groups. TheInternational Labor Rights Forum then worked with COSIBAH towrite and publish this report.INTERNATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS FORUMWOMEN IN THE HONDURAN MELON INDUSTRY3
Page 1 and 2: INTERNATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS FORUMBUI
Page 3: TABLE OF CONTENTSExecutive Summary.
Page 7 and 8: INTRODUCTIONON GETTING BY:Families
Page 9 and 10: WORKING CONDITIONSNot only are melo
Page 12: WORKING CONDITIONSNearly 70% of the
Page 15 and 16: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSADDR
Page 17 and 18: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSADDR
Page 19 and 20: APPENDIX A18. Does the company pay
Page 22: APPENDIX A59. Are the instructions

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