the pdf here

Women Workers in the Sugar Sector
of the English-Speaking Caribbean
Discussion Paper by the IUF Caribbean Sugar and
Bananas Project
Introduction
This discussion paper presents basic information
on the numbers of women workers in the sugar
industries of the English-speaking Caribbean; it
also identifies and discusses some relevant issues
related to women workers (e.g. discrimination,
gender issues), with information provided by
union and women delegates at two IUF activities:
a seminar for women sugar workers in the
Caribbean (October 2003, Guyana) and a women
meeting (April 2004) in preparation for the IUF
global sugar conference, the latter held in May
2004, in Oberjosbach, Germany. Sources are
listed in the text.
This paper is a report and a reflection on
the IUF work with women in the sugar industries
of E/S Caribbean, a work that is being expanded
to include the banana sector and, starting in 2005,
the agriculture in general. Writing the document
was responsibility of Jorge Chullén, IUF global
sugar coordinator, who claims no expertise in the
field, and only expects to have grasped the key
aspects of the discussion.
The Swedish union LO-TCO supported
the E/S Sugar and Bananas project in 2004.
December 2004.
Unions in the Sugar Sector of the English-speaking Caribbean
There are six sugar producing-exporting countries in the English-speaking Caribbean: Barbados, Belize,
Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, and Trinidad & Tobago. Although small with a total yearly production
of less than 800,000 tonnes of sugar (raw value), representing about half of a percentage point of the
world’s sugar production (estimated at 144 million tonnes in 2003/04), and deceivingly simple because of
its size, the sugar sector in the E/S Caribbean encompasses a great complexity, after hundreds of years of
history, heavy influence on economics, source of political power and foundation to community life. 1 These
industries have experienced dramatic changes over the past two decades, and the following is a summary of
the most relevant aspects of these processes.
1- Trinidad: In 2003, the government of Trinidad & Tobago decided the dismantling of the state-owned
and state-run Caroni (1975) Ltd., the island’s sole cane processor and owner of two factories, one refinery,
and some 77,000 acres of land. The decision was part of the restructuring of the industry, which also
involved the closing of one mill; that the state would not longer be involved in cane growing – all cane
1
Belize may be an exception: its sugar industry dates from the late 1860s.
IUF E/S Caribbean Discussion Paper
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Women Sugar Workers in the Caribbean
would be supplied by independent farmers –, Caroni was replaced by the Sugar Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
(SMLC), now in charge of cane processing; some 10,000 Caroni employees were retrenched. The SMCL
then proceeded to outsource all operations: at present, there is no employee hired on a permanent basis in
the sugar sector in Trinidad.
The dismantling of Caroni (1975) Ltd. had a direct impact on the organization of the sugar workers,
as they became casual workers on short-term contracts performing permanent jobs. The All Trinidad Sugar
and General Workers Union (ATSGWTU), that since the 1930s had organized and represented sugar
workers, lost most of its membership. In fact, there is no union or any other body representing employees
(workers and staff) in the sugar sector of Trinidad.
2- Barbados and St. Kitts: small islands with a long sugar history, the sugar industry is the islands have
lost their former prominence. In 2002-2005, the Barbadian sugar industry will be reduced to one operating
factory, and in 2004, the country permanently lost 7,000 tonnes from its close to 50,000-tonne quota in the
European Union because its inability to fulfil it. The St Kitts sugar industry is in no better situation: in
1999, a government-sponsored study recommended the closure of the industry, a recommendation accepted
by all parties. Nonetheless, the social and political cost of closing the industry seems too high for the
government to absorb, and the industry continues to live in uncertainty.
3- Jamaica: from among the six sugar producing/exporting countries in the Caribbean, Jamaica is where
the industry faces major decisions: while the state-owned and stated-financially supported sector, with five
of the operating mills (three in the Sugar Company of Jamaica, plus two others), continues to face financial
and production problems, the privately owned estates (Appleton and Worthy Park) have registered more
solid performances. In 2002, the government closed one mill, Hampden Estate, proposing a redevelopment
plan. Increasing production and reactivating the state-owned sector, however, remains a challenge.
4- Belize: the sugar sector in Belize comprises some 9,000 farmers and one milling company, the Belize
Sugar Industries (BSI), which presents a peculiar – in the Caribbean experience – ownership structure: the
Belize Employees Holdings (BHE) is a trust that controls 81 percent of the stake in BSI, with Tate & Lyle
and the government of Belize as minority shareholders. The BEH includes all full-time employees of the
BSI, and is controlled by a board that includes worker representatives. The BSI has proposed a
consolidation/expansion plan, which includes the development of company-owned cane fields and the
setting up of a co-generation plant.
5- Guyana: from the six sugar producing/exporting countries in the English-speaking Caribbean, Guyana
presents the best possibilities to expand production, reduce costs, and consolidate its presence in the
regional sugar sector. The state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is managed by Booker-Tate,
a multinational specialised in managing industries, and has shown a remarkable performance, which started
in 1992, after the near collapse of production in 1990. Then, in response to pressure from international
financial institutions, the government of the day privatised the management of the sugar company, as a first
step for the sale of the state-owned sugar assets. The change of management, however, recovered elements
the sector had lost: manpower and know-how, and introduced a crucially new factor: the ending of political
interference in the sector (which plagues most of the Caribbean sugar industries, including the Spanish
Caribbean like the Dominican Republic). The end result was a recovery of production, which, coupled with
a change in the government, stopped privatisation, on one hand, and allow the sector to recover, on the
other.
In the late 1990s GuySuCo proposed an expansion program to increase production by one half
(from 300,000 to 450,000 tonnes of sugar per year), a program anchored in the construction of a new
factory in Skeldon (which includes a co-generation plant and a distillery) and the revamping of the current
mills. Expanding production is expected to result in lower costs of production.
December 2004
IUF E/S Caribbean Discussion Paper
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Women Sugar Workers in the Caribbean
Women Sugar Workers
The six English-speaking Caribbean sugar industries provide an estimated 45,000 direct jobs, including
agricultural workers, although figures on the latter for Belize and Jamaica are difficult to estimate, because
of the presence of small-scale farmers, who employ casual labour or migrant workers (Belize).
From IUF reports, women workers comprise 6 percent of Trinidad’s sugar labour force (under the
now dismantled Caroni (1975) Ltd.), 10 percent of Jamaica’s unionised sugar workers, 14 percent of the
total labour force in Guyana, 26 percent in St Kitts, and 57 percent in Barbados. The figures, however,
require some comments: in Belize, there is no woman factory worker, which is the category of unionised
workers. In Trinidad, the overwhelming majority in all areas of the industry are male labourers, which is
also the situation in Jamaica and Guyana. In the latter, information from NAACIE, the union that organises
clerical employees, indicates, however, that the majority of its sugar affiliated workers are women, who
comprise about 60 percent of total clerical sugar workers. In Barbados, according to the information
available, all female workers are in the fields, not in the factory.
The information that follows is not homogeneous but provides a fair description of the numbers of
women workers in the sugar industries of the English-speaking Caribbean.
Jamaica: Labour Force in the Sugar Sector (Registered or unionized workers)
September 2003
Total
Estate
Registered
Male
%
Female
%
Frome
981
918
94
63
6
Monymusk
889
802
90
87
10
Bernard Lodge
975
871
89
104
11
Long Pond
763
698
91
65
9
St Thomas
586
523
89
63
11
Appleton
423
407
96
16
4
Hampden (closed)
Worthy Park (Private)
516
429
83
87
17
New Yarmouth (Private)
120
114
95
6
5
Total Sugar Sector
5,253
4,762
491
Information provided by Jamaica’s UAWU and BITU. IUF Women Sugar Workers Seminar, October 2003,
Guyana.
Guyana: Labour Force in the Sugar Sector
Estate
Women Women %
of total
Skeldon
1,900
471
2,371
2,229
142
6.0
East Berbice Estate
5,740
1,280
7,020
6,318
702
10.0
Blairmont (*)
2,289
549
2,838
1,617
1,221
43.0
East Demerara
3,913
935
4,848
4,314
534
11.0
Wales
1,354
383
1,737
1,615
122
7.0
Uitvlugt
1,931
452
2,383
2,049
334
14.0
Total Sugar Sector
17,127
4,070
21,197
18,142
3,055
14.4
(*) The Blairmont estate is a statistical anomaly for which this writer has no explanation.
Information provided by GAWU, quoting GuySuCo, IUF Women Sugar Workers Seminar, October 2003,
Guyana.
December 2004
Permanent Temporary
Total
Men
IUF E/S Caribbean Discussion Paper
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Women Sugar Workers in the Caribbean
Women Sugar Workers in Caroni (1975) Ltd., Trinidad
Women
Total Employees
Daily-paid workers
303
8,116
Staff
273
1,088
Total
576
9,204
Information provided by ATSWGTU, IUF Women Sugar Workers Seminar, October 2003, Guyana, and
information on the restructuring of Caroni (1975) Ltd., quoted in “Sugar Worker”, February 2003.
Women Sugar Workers in Barbados
Female
Male
Total
Factory
260
260
Field
1,133
567
1,133
Total
1,133
827
1,960
Information provided by BWU. IUF Women Sugar Workers Seminar, October 2003, Guyana
The Case of St Kitts
A closer examination of the labour force in the sugar industry of St Kitts allows for some general discussion
because of the detailed information presented by Mrs Sonia Henry, delegate of the St Kitts-Nevis Trades
and Labour Union (SNTLU) to IUF events. The information, it should be added, refers to the whole
universe of Kittitian sugar workers.
St Kitts – Labour Force in the Sugar Sector by Age and Sex
Age Group
15-24
25-34
35-49
50-62
63+
Total
Male
112
138
375
180
52
857
Female
5
46
155
76
24
306
Total
117
184
530
256
76
1,163
St Kitts – Female and Male Sugar Workers by Age Groups
Age Group
15-24
25-34
35-49
50-62
63+
Total
December 2004
Male
Female
Age group as % Males as % of Age group as % Females as % of
of total
of total
workers in age
workers in age
male workers
female workers
group
group
13.1
96
1.6
4
16.1
75
15.0
25
43.8
71
50.7
29
21.0
70
24.8
30
6.1
68
7.8
32
100
100
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Women Sugar Workers in the Caribbean
The Kittitian sugar situation exemplifies how sex (nature) and jobs (culture) become gender, and then,
under certain conditions, gender becomes an issue that workers and unions need to deal with. The
discussion that follows and the conclusions it reaches, although based on Kittitian figures, can be safely
applied to most cane-based industries in the developing world.
The statistics quoted confirm that sugar is a male-dominated sector, even though the Kittitian
numbers are not overwhelmingly in favour of male workers like the cases of Trinidad and Jamaica, where
women represent less than 10 percent of the total labour force.
When Sex and Jobs Equal Gender Issues
The table below shows a complete picture of the Kittitian sugar workers by sex, age and jobs. It is a quite
relevant piece of information indeed.
St Kitts – Sugar workers by Age Group and Occupation
15-24 in %
25-34 in %
35-49 in %
50-62 in %
63+ in %
Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female
Senior officials and
managers
1
Professionals
Technicians and associate
professionals
3
Clerks
2
Service workers
1
5
7
3
2
20
Skilled agric. Workers
16
Plan and machine operators
45
Elementary occupations
30
20
No
%
7
4
34
4
5
2
2
14
2
3
1
13
2
0
0
8
37
7
8
11
1
4
60
7
32
10
2
2
2
2
3
1
2
20
2
5
2
2
15
1
14
34
3
30
33
83
33
20
1
41
60
Female
%
2
2
1
Craft and related workers
3
2
Male
No
25
52
1
2
5
1
1
0
4
128
15
3
1
300
35
4
1
280
33
253
83
25
96
Total
58
100
854
306
Information provided by SKNTLU. IUF Women Sugar Workers Seminar, October 2003, Guyana; IUF
preparatory meeting, April 2004, Jamaica.
More importantly, the table above shows how women are usually confined to “elementary occupations,”
with “clerks” coming as a quite-distant second place. The “elementary occupations” demand unskilled
labour 2 and usually are low-paid jobs. A massive 82 percent cent of women (253 out of 306) are employed
in “elementary occupations,” while women in certain age group find themselves exclusively confined to
this slot: for instance, from 100 women of 50 years or more of age, all except four (04) are in this category.3
Jobs in the upper echelons of the sugar sector (senior officials and managers, professionals) are
overwhelming occupied by male employees (88 per cent of the 69 positions in the two quoted categories),
but the male-dominated character appears in full force when dealing with skilled labourers (crafts, machine
operators) where male employees hold 98 percent of the 435 positions available. (Every year, the St Kitts
Sugar Manufacturing Co. imports some 600 workers, mostly from Guyana and the Dominican Republic, for
2
Formal education, that is, because it is difficult not to appreciate that handling a machete to cut cane or using a
hook to get rid of weeds or appropriately drop and cover cane seeds when planting (on which germination also
depends) do require a skill not learned in a formal classroom setting.
3
The information provided for Barbados indicates that all women are employed in fieldwork. The writer,
however, has not been able to identify if the figures refers to unionisable/unionised employees or to the actual number
of workers. The information from St Kitts is clearer on this regards, therefore its use.
December 2004
IUF E/S Caribbean Discussion Paper
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Women Sugar Workers in the Caribbean
the harvesting of cane; all of them are male cane cutters.) Statistically speaking, a woman worker in the
Kittitian sugar sector, is usually found in the unskilled, low-paid jobs.
A delegate of the St Kitts-Nevis Trades and Labour Union (SNTLU) reported to the IUF meetings
that women are hired for cutting cane for planting, drop planting, fertilizing, weeding and grass digging.
Initial findings of a research by GAWU on the conditions of women sugar workers in Guyana point to a
situation similar to the St Kitts.
In brief: the lower the pay, the more probable that the worker is a woman; the older the woman, the
more probable her job is an unskilled position. Gender becomes an issue.
Wage and Earning Discrimination
Discrimination against women is also evident in terms of remuneration. The report from St Kitts states that
a female worker earns some 26 Eastern Caribbean dollars per day (USD 1.00=XCD 2.67), while her male
counterpart may earn XCD 30 per day for the same job, a difference of 14 percent (or more in some
instances). This means a woman needs to work from 2 Jan. to 31 Dec. to earn what a man does from 2 Jan.
to 10 Nov. the same year, assuming that both enjoy the same number of holidays and days of rest.
While straight wage discrimination appears to be uncommon in other Caribbean territories –
although the Barbados report mentions such discrimination in privately-owned farms –, a more common
situation is discrimination through tasks, which is much more difficult to identify and, therefore, deal with.
Much of the fieldwork in sugar – as well as in other crops – is paid by the task, which is usually
defined for a day’s work (and in theory related to, at least, a minimum wage). From here, it is commonly
heard of an “x” amount of cane cut, a “y” number of acres weeded, a “z” number of bags of fertilizer
applied, and so on. Multiple questions arise, almost immediately: What is the (daily) task to be fulfilled in
order to ensure a minimum wage? What elements are taken into consideration to define such task? Who
defines such task? Reports presented at two IUF meetings with women sugar workers 4 from which most of
the information for this report is taken, spoke of the complains of women workers that they are unable to
fulfil the daily task, therefore earn less money than they are entitled to. A finer discussion should be
developed, as to determine if the remuneration obtained through the daily tasks actually covers at least the
legislated minimum wage.
The usual explanation for women inability to complete their task is that agricultural work demands
some physical strength and ability that women lack because they are women. This assertion, however, has
to be discussed further, as natural prowess and strength is not distributed evenly among a specific labour
population and, within that population, is not determined only by sex either.
A study on ergonomics implemented in a Sao Paulo sugar company shows some interesting and
challenging data on the performance of 35 workers (19 females, 16 males), during a seven-and-a-half
month period in the 2001 season. 5 The first comment arising from the study is summarised in the following
table.
Volume of Cane Cut: May-November 2001, Sao Paulo
Minimum
Female
6.11 tonnes/day
Male
4.96 tonnes/day
Maria Cristina Gonzaga, p. 10
Average
8.10 tonnes/day
7.13 tonnes/day
Maximum
12.60 tonnes/day
9.80 tonnes/day
4
Seminar for Women Sugar Workers in the Caribbean, October 2003 in Guyana, and a preparatory meeting for
the IUF global sugar conference held in April 2004 in Jamaica.
5
Maria Cristina Gonzaga O uso dos equipamentos individuais de protecao e das ferramentas de trabalho no corte
manual da cana de acucar FUNDACENTRO March 2002.
December 2004
IUF E/S Caribbean Discussion Paper
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Women Sugar Workers in the Caribbean
Contrary to common understanding, this study shows that female workers cut more cane than men in all
categories: minimum, average and maximum tonnage. Also, the study says that women worked longer than
male workers (having then an impact on their indexes?): the average number of days worked by these
women cane cutters was 17 days per month, male workers worked for 14 days per month. Another
interesting finding of the study is that, on average, the women in the control group were four years older,
nine kilograms lighter, and ten centimetres shorter than the men. Therefore, the group of people of lesser
physical strengths within that specific labour population of 36 cane cutters outperformed the stronger group
in the exhausting task of cane cutting. 6 A possible explanation, the study quotes an expert, is that “women
bear the environmental conditions better than men of the same age.” But, is this a fact?
In the opinion of the present writer, the Brazilian information points in a different direction: Firstly,
even a physically demanding agricultural task like cane cutting is defined by variables other than natural
prowess or strength. A task, even when a direct relationship to workers’ physical characteristics can be
historically or theoretically argued, it does not depend on whether the worker is a man or a woman; it is
defined by the economic, social and conditions where production occurs. As the Brazilian ergonomic study
shows: female cane cutters were older, lighter, and shorter than the male cutters and, nonetheless, they
worked more days and cut more cane, and, we should assume, were more reliable workers for the company.
Secondly, determining the size of a task, usually in an upward trend, is a selection of workers: the less able
workers (men or women) go, the better workers (men or women) stay – and work harder. These may be the
reasons why the Brazilian ergonomic study found that women cane cutters outperformed the men in that
particular sugar company during the 2001 harvest.
In a report to the IUF global sugar conference 7, the Brazilian CONTAG (the National
Confederation of Agricultural Workers) described the level of automation and mechanization, the
downward pressure on wages and salaries, the increase of offer in labour present in the sugar/alcohol sector.
CONTAG adds that companies in Sao Paulo state, the heart of the Brazilian sugar/alcohol complex, tend
not to hire workers who cannot cut an average of 9 tonnes of cane per day. Ten years ago, the average
tonnage of cut cane was about half that amount, 4.5 tonnes per day. Companies look for younger workers
(below 40 years of age), and, practically speaking, women are not longer hired. Empirical evidence
corroborates this assertion, as the number of women workers in the sugar/alcohol sector has drastically
diminished. This, however, does not mean that women not longer work in cane, as the ergonomic study
shows.
From the general trend of the sugar/alcohol Brazilian complex, those women still employed, in
particular in the agricultural sector, are – and need to be – the best female workers, while the men represent,
in truer fashion, the average man-day work. 8
Determining remuneration through tasks, which are apparently based on physical conditions
determined by sex, is actually a way to control remuneration for all workers, with the least protected ones
suffering the most. If the Brazilian case demonstrates something is that a labour population (in and by itself)
does not reflect the supposed natural characteristics of humankind (“being” a man or a woman), but the
specific manner in which production is carried out and workers are organised to fit that production; a way
that reproduces the values of the society in which production takes place: discrimination through less
6
Unfortunately, being a study on ergonomics, there is no information on wages and salaries.
CONTAG Situación de los Trabajadores Rurales del Sector Sucroalcoholero de Brasil p.10. Document
prepared for the IUF global sugar conference, Frankfurt, May 2004.
8
If the Sao Paulo company where the ergonomics study was implemented goes on to dismiss the lesser
performers among male workers, then the average production for male workers would increase, and female workers’
average would not be so strikingly better as they are now (probably helping to justify a new round of downsizing or
dismissal?) This sort of company decisions, however, has little to do with the sex of workers, and more with economic
and social conditions.
7
December 2004
IUF E/S Caribbean Discussion Paper
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Women Sugar Workers in the Caribbean
remuneration either in the straight manner of paying less for the same job or through a task-based and more
convoluted way, reflects the discrimination based on gender.9
While wage discrimination might be easier to identify and quantify, it is also true that other forms
of discrimination, less quantifiable and more difficult to identify, are present, reproducing values from
society. For instance, while reports from Guyana describe an egalitarian remuneration system, with male
and female workers earning the same wages for the same job (although men tend to produce more, therefore
receive more money), also speak candidly of sexual harassment as being “not a major problem.” Some
statistics, however, should give the Guyanese unions and workers pause: up to 80 percent of women
workers employed by GuySuCo are single parents according to a NAACIE delegate to an IUF meeting;
figures confirmed by a study in progress by the research department of GAWU that says that 90 out of 110
women interviewed for the study were single parents. What else do these rough and probably anecdotic
figures speak about if not of the subordinated position of women, reaffirmed by the fact that very seldom
anything is heard about single-parent men?
Determining an agricultural task is an exercise of fair remuneration for workers, in which the
question to answer is how to define the size of a task that corresponds to a negotiated minimum wage, or, at
least, to the nationally legislated minimum. 10
Other Gender/Women Issues
The IUF meetings also collected and heard reports on Maternity leave, which in all cases is stipulated in the
collective bargaining agreements or in the national legislation; on health and safety, and sexual harassment.
The latter were topics of particular concern for women, but the information is still to be completed and
cross-referenced, as to make their discussion useful for the trade union work.
In general terms, health and safety conditions in agricultural activities, where most of the
women work, are described as poor:
-
lack of adequate personal protective equipment, which in some cases women have to buy by
themselves,
lack of sanitary facilities, portable latrines and adequate facilities for women to change clothes and
wash themselves,
lack of shelters to protect workers against weather, sun and heat, as well as to allow a reasonable
space to eat, and drinking water to be provided,
poor training and education programs on the handling of chemical products in the fields.
Along with the identification of some practical issues as the list above, there is also the question of
reporting or, more precise, underreporting of accidents, which appears related to two main issues: an active
discouragement of reporting accidents because of the possible increase in insurance premiums, and the
cumbersome reporting process itself. Related to health and safety issues, unions and women delegates
9
Discrimination against women workers is not a prerogative of the developing world. The Sugar Worker reported
in its October 2004 issue that Amalgamated Sugar, a sugar beet processing company in the United States, settled a
discrimination case against 151 women job applicants and its females employees by agreeing to hire 22 of the
applicants and increase the female employees’ salaries by an combined annual USD 13,000, in order to make their
salaries equal to male workers. The settlement also required the company to spend USD 1,500 in training their
directors on equal employment opportunity regulations.
10
A discussion on agricultural tasks for women took place at the IUF seminar for women workers (October 2003,
Guyana), where an argument was expressed, possibly worthy of the risk of a “positive discrimination” even tough it
echoed some social stereotypes: given that women are physically less strong than men, the argument went, they should
be given lighter/smaller tasks to allow them to earn a decent living. The argument attempts to address the question that
the job performed ought to be fairly remunerated, independently from the person who performs it; even though the
person who performs it might be in need of special protection – not because of her but because of society.
December 2004
IUF E/S Caribbean Discussion Paper
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Women Sugar Workers in the Caribbean
underlined the need for HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs, and a clear and firm policy of
preventing discrimination, because of infection, in the work place.
A second area of concern was sexual harassment. Discussing sexual harassment is difficult in
any situation where information is not available, where participants feel discouraged to contribute, and
where, in general, taking a lighter view of the issue replaces an open and serious discussion. The IUF
meetings, however, took an important step: from an initial position, shared wittingly or unwittingly by
female and male participants, that sexual harassment is “not a major problem” because of social and
cultural circumstances (e.g. “people like gossiping,” therefore there is no much possibility to keep anything
secret, such as sexually harassing a subordinate) to realise that information and education is basic to
understand what sexual harassment is (i.e. related to power to decide over an individual worker’s job,
conditions, and perspectives) and be able to differentiate it from cultural traits (body expressions, for
instance).
The discussion on sexual harassment was enriched when delegates to the preparatory meeting for
the IUF global sugar conference talked about domestic violence, which in many instances is masqueraded
as a cultural “use” or “shortcoming.” Starting with an accepted comment: “I am luckier than my mother
because my husband hits me once a week, and she was hit everyday,” the delegates went explored in some
depth what domestic violence is and the reasons why women tend to accept it as a cultural “trait.” The
discussion was done using the women’s own experience (and experiences from relatives, friends and
acquaintances – and, quite probably, also hearsay) and led them to realise the need for more information
and education on domestic violence, and to consider the possibility that domestic violence may not be a
cultural “use” or “deficiency” after all.
A pressing issue is the participation of women in unions, as members and leaders, matters on
which, paradoxically, this writer has not enough hard and reliable information to allow an educated
discussion – beyond some safe and general comments. All unions reported the presence of women in the
leadership, either at the executive level or as union delegates, and, of course, as members. They also agreed,
as shown in the resolution quoted below, that women participation is not adequate and does not make
justice to the presence of women in the sector.
From reports heard at the IUF meetings, most of the unions have two or three women in the
national executive body, but this general statement requires qualification because Caribbean unions usually
affiliate several categories of workers, and therefore, it is possible that no woman sugar worker belongs in
the executive or decision-making instances11. For instance, the executive of the Barbados Workers’ Union
has two women among its three vice-presidents, and five women among the remaining 21 executive
members, making seven eight out of 24 members (or 30 percent). At the level of the Sugar Council,
however, there are three women out of 25 members (12 percent). Information from other unions is sketchy:
GAWU in Guyana, basically a sugar workers union, has two women in its 20-member executive, while
BITU in Jamaica reports that 35 percent of union delegates are women, and the CBA negotiating sugar
team in St Kitts has no woman member.
General Comments
This discussion paper attempts to support an educated discussion on the situation of women workers in the
Caribbean sugar sector. It is still to be enriched, extended to the banana sector, and then to Caribbean
agriculture, or at least to those crops that are relevant to the Caribbean territories and IUF affiliated unions.
This paper is an instance to evaluate the information available, identify some issues, and share it with the
unions for its use as an input for further work. It is by no mean considered to be a final product.
Some general comments may be relevant:
11
The fact that women are part of the leadership does not in itself guarantee that gender-sensitive union policies are in
place. This matters is of course a discussion that Caribbean unions would need to pursue in the future.
December 2004
IUF E/S Caribbean Discussion Paper
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Women Sugar Workers in the Caribbean
1- Union strength comes from organising and fairly representing all workers but, increasingly, also
from creatively influencing the society in which unions operate. In the case of women workers,
unions are called to create an alternative social perception of the role of women as workers, their
rights, and protection. This is especially true when combating discrimination.
2- Unions need to be sensitive to the needs of the workers they represent, and practical and strategic
approaches should be in place. From the statistical description of women workers, unions are
challenged to provide adequate protection to agricultural workers, both in terms of the specific jobs
they perform and for the fact that the majority of women workers are employed in this area.
3- Information and knowledge are key activities for a strong and active union organisation. The
information provided here, as well as the experience (albeit limited to two meetings) within the IUF
regional sugar work underline the lack of reliable information, which the unions should readily
have.
4- Organisational strategies should address the situation of women workers in a strategically and
practically way: women as workers (wages, terms and conditions, health and safety, etc.) and in
relation to cultural and social practices that prevent them from fully participating in unions as
members or, more importantly, as part of the leadership. Single-parenting is a case in point: unions
have to proactively look for and find solutions for what is, in most cases, a women issue: single
parenting and domestic chores take an important portion of women’s lives and worries. Along with
creating favourable conditions for the participation of women in unions, which is, after all, their
logical and natural right as workers, unions have to creatively educate, train and prepare women for
leadership positions. This is indeed a highly political and conscious decision that, in real practice,
challenges some of the ways unions have been organised.
Recommendations for future work of the IUF Caribbean
The First Seminar for Women Workers in the
Caribbean Sugar Sector, which preceded and
reported to the Fifth Regional Sugar Meeting
(October 2003, Georgetown, Guyana), passed
some recommendations for the regional
sugar/bananas/agricultural work of the IUF.
These were also part of the preparatory meeting
for the IUF global sugar conference (May 2004,
Frankfurt, Germany), where a woman delegate
from BITU-Jamaica, made a presentation of some
women issues.
The recommendations were:
1- Equality/equal pay for work of equal
value/task rates
On first accounts, the wage difference reported in
the industries of St Kitts and Barbados appear not
to be present in the other countries (Jamaica and
Guyana). The meetings called the unions to lobby
their government to ensure that the provisions of
ILO Convention 100 on equal pay for work of
December 2004
equal value are observed. All six Englishspeaking Caribbean sugar-producing countries
have ratified Convention 100.
Unions should ensure that women are
assigned tasks based according to their abilities,
tasks that should allow them to ear a decent living
and can be determined by a time and motion
study/equality audit.
2- Occupational Health and Safety
Unions expressed concerns about health and
safety problems in sugar, and cited examples
such as the lack of adequate protective safety
gear, medical care, and education and training
programs.
Unions welcomed the adoption of ILO
Convention 184 on safety and health in
agriculture, and called the Caribbean government
to adopt it. All of the six sugar-producing
countries are yet to adopt this convention.
IUF E/S Caribbean Discussion Paper
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Women Sugar Workers in the Caribbean
3- Sexual Harassment and Respect to Women
Unions agreed that women should become aware
of the signs of sexual harassment, which can be
achieved through joint education activities with
management, and developing solidarity among
women workers.
Unions are also lobby the government to
legislate laws for the protection of women against
violence and sexual harassment.
4- Equality within Trade Unions and Ensuring
Women’s Participation
Unions recognised that women workers do not
fully participate as union members and are
underrepresented in the union leadership, and
called them to follow IUF policy to ensure a
minimum of 40 percent representation of either
sex at the senior union levels.
English-speaking Caribbean Sugar Trade Unions Affiliated to the IUF
Barbados – Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU)
Belize – The Belize Workers Union (BWU)
Guyana – Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU
Guyana – National Association of Agricultural, Commercial & Industrial Employees (NAACIE)
Jamaica – Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU)
Jamaica – University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU)
St Kitts – St Kitts Nevis Trades & Labour Union (SKNT&LU)
Trinidad – All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Trade Union (ATSGWTU)
IUF Caribbean
LeVere Richards, Regional Secretary
c/o Barbados Workers Union
“Solidarity House”
Harmony Hall
St. Michel
P.O. Box 172
Bridgetown/Barbados
Phone (+1-246) 426 3492/5
Fax: (+1-246) 436 6496
E-mail: [email protected]
December 2004
IUF – Global Sugar Coordination
Jorge Chullén
48 Maclean Ave.
Toronto, On
Canada M4E-3A1
Phone: (+1-416) 699-5885
E-mail: [email protected]
IUF E/S Caribbean Discussion Paper
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Women Sugar Workers in the Caribbean
English-speaking Caribbean - Centrifugal Sugar Production
(1970 – 2003, metric tonnes, raw value)
Year Barbados Belize Guyana Jamaica St. Kitts Trinidad Caribbean
1970 160,420 69,753 332,826 382,294
na 221,543 1,166,836
1971 140,451 64,756 394,540 393,632 26,224 220,177 1,239,780
1972 116,500 73,002 335,338 387,441 27,053 237,898 1,177,232
1973 120,839 73,689 280,283 339,086 24,463 185,544 1,023,904
1974 112,680 91,884 352,740 378,445 26,732 186,815 1,149,296
1975 101,967 85,684 310,859 366,441 25,855 163,040 1,053,846
1976 106,486 68,242 342,770 365,498 36,460 205,010 1,124,466
1977 119,836 97,831 253,127 395,811 24,794 178,004 1,069,403
1978 103,785 119,138 341,911 305,580 40,899 148,137 1,059,450
1979 117,110 105,330 316,414 291,025 40,745 143,521 1,014,145
1980 135,493 108,363 286,230 236,389 35,609 113,580 915,664
1981
96,867 103,645 320,168 204,010 33,135 93,317 851,142
1982
88,378 113,628 304,963 198,050 36,876 78,685 820,580
1983
85,837 120,323 265,481 202,295 27,594 79,020 780,550
1984
97,688 108,576 256,481 187,778 30,612 66,500 747,635
1985 101,414 109,520 257,688 209,125 27,455 80,000 785,202
1986 112,633 104,704 260,547 198,771 28,491 94,736 799,882
1987
83,868 87,761 233,815 189,435 25,256 88,075 708,210
1988
81,033 88,846 178,308 221,715 25,815 94,204 689,921
1989
67,044 93,949 170,497 204,973 24,769 100,443 661,675
1990
69,954 108,146 133,761 208,592 25,000 122,284 667,737
1991
66,531 103,367 168,114 233,882 19,768 103,655 695,317
1992
55,000 107,653 254,633 228,024 20,000 113,702 779,012
1993
48,000 108,293 255,581 219,046 25,000 107,936 763,856
1994
51,000 107,620 264,697 223,041 30,000 127,086 803,444
1995
55,000 115,169 257,987 214,089 25,000 116,976 784,221
1996
59,114 113,128 287,035 236,027 20,000 116,639 831,943
1997
62,393 131,368 283,275 232,998 31,000 120,141 861,175
1998
46,473 123,102 263,010 182,761 24,000 78,647 717,993
1999
53,205 123,862 335,582 211,540 20,000 91,760 835,949
2000
58,373 128,056 273,317 209,825 20,000 115,139 804,710
2001
50,000 113,665 284,474 205,127 20,000 89,335 762,601
2002
45,000 118,507 331,068 175,215 20,000 104,267 794,057
2003
36,000 111,109 302,000 153,670 22,000 66,914 691,693
Source: Sugar Yearbook, International Sugar Organization, various issues
December 2004
IUF E/S Caribbean Discussion Paper
World
72,896,138
73,959,434
75,744,360
78,012,886
76,397,195
78,841,893
82,403,318
90,356,483
90,604,955
89,209,943
84,392,431
92,764,046
101,809,793
96,901,194
99,208,975
98,155,330
100,280,548
104,457,035
104,590,613
107,183,905
110,894,370
112,100,376
117,564,863
112,377,893
110,457,503
117,882,608
125,048,377
125,093,762
125,948,388
134,891,670
130,573,780
130,561,589
142,204,753
148,361,887
As %
of
World
1.68
1.55
1.31
1.50
1.34
1.36
1.18
1.17
1.14
1.09
0.92
0.81
0.81
0.75
0.80
0.80
0.68
0.66
0.62
0.60
0.62
0.66
0.68
0.73
0.67
0.67
0.69
0.57
0.62
0.62
0.58
0.56
0.46
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