Because agricultural manual labour is often seasonal employment, job insecurity among farm-workers is chronic and prevalent. Their irregular and insecure employment restrains them from effectively organizing for decent wages and better working conditions. According to the ILO: (1) agricultural workers are among the groups with the highest incidence of poverty in many countries; (2) only 5 per cent of the world’s 1.3 billion agricultural workers have access to any labour inspection system; (3) the majority of waged agricultural workers are excluded from social protection; and (4) probably less than 10 per cent of the world’s waged agricultural workers are organized and represented in trade unions or rural workers’ organizations.

Programme of Action

  • Lack of political independence of trade unions
  • No legislated and implemented living wage
  • No equal wages based on gender, ethnic background, resident status
  • Rights to housing and land, education for workers’ children
  • Right to work for 6 hours, right to overtime pay beyond 6 hours
  • Practice of seasonal, casual or part-time work
  • Social security and health benefits– lacking opportunities for child care and reproductive rights
  • Child labour and unavailability of child education and care
  • Organise independent trade unions
  • Lobby, advocacy and action research
  • Awareness campaigns for workers’ rights both locally and nationally.
  • Bringing issues to upper management & policy makers via policy dialogue or campaigns
  • National strikes
  • Strengthen national laws and reforms, campaigns
  • Campaign on the Right to Work and Employment
  • Campaign on coverage of agri workers and migrant workers under national labor law
  • Campaign against criminalization or harassment of agri workers or their leaders for asserting their rights
  • Develop a regional campaign
  • Study C110 (plantation convention) and draft a common position and launch action research accordingly, using it as a platform for education and campaigns
  • Coordinated campaign on issues of oil palm plantation workers – one
    policy advocacy issue being RSPO
  • Simultaneous protests
  • Identify common campaigns, protest actions
  • Organize common campaign on May Day
  • C188 (work in fishing convention) – study and draft plans

Resources

International Labour Standards for Plantation Work
89.04 KB
622 downloads

International Labour Standards for Plantation Work

Safety and Health in Agriculture
1.69 MB
644 downloads

Safety and Health in Agriculture

SARD and Agricultural Workers
407.38 KB
613 downloads

SARD and Agricultural Workers

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