agricultural workers

Arab Women in Israel's farms: Let Them Work!

Since February 2005, the Workers’ Advice Centre (WAC), an independent labour association, has been working to help Arab women in Israel to become breadwinners by integrating them in agricultural work. This is a key strategy of WAC in the struggle against poverty among the Arab citizens of Israel, half of whom live below the poverty line, 66% of whom are children. It is also an essential step in the economic and personal empowerment of Arab women, as only 18% of them work outside their homes.

Why is the rate of breadwinners among Arab women so low? Some Israeli farmers claim that Islamic tradition is to blame. However, WAC believes government policies create obstacles for unprofessional Arab women. Light industries, where Arab women worked before the era of globalization, have been shut down to reopen in countries where labour is cheaper. Arab villages, often neglected and undeveloped in the midst of high-tech industries, offer few jobs. Agriculture, a sector that could potentially absorb tens of thousands of Arab female labourers, is however practically out of reach. That is unless women are ready to work for subcontractors, who skim off half of their pay and social rights, and prevent them from organizing.

Fifty per cent of hired agricultural workers in Israel are Thai workers. They are 'shackled' to a certain boss or a company. If they leave, they become illegal. They pay intermediary companies $10,000 to come to Israel, therefore they are in no position to bargain for their rights. They work for half of the legal wage and experience long working hours. Farmers are accused of preferring Thai workers because the labour costs are cheaper, especially compared to WAC workers who get full legal salaries and social rights.

The Israeli-Thai government's agreement with the IOM (International Organization of Migration), which aimed to cut down the huge fees that workers pay to personnel agencies and to control trafficking of workers according to international laws, was seen as a significant step in the right direction. However due to the strength and influence of the farmers’ lobby, the agreement faces many obstacles and it is reported that workers have not experienced any benefits so far.

WAC also lobbies at parliament and government levels to change policy, and together with Kav LaOved, WAC recently presented an appeal (see www.workersadvicecentre.org) to British trade unions and social groups to put pressure on local retailers to check exporters' implementation of workers' social rights in their supply chains.

Israel is a significant supplier of agricultural produce (fruit, vegetables and cut flowers) to major British supermarkets. WAC-Ma'an and Kav LaOved have reported that many British labour standards commitments to workers overseas are not being upheld. This includes legal commitments made in EU law and retail chains’ own voluntary codes of conduct governing the treatment of workers abroad.

WAC offers more than a job and representation. The women’s forum of WAC organizes weekly empowerment meetings after work, offers lectures and recreation activities, and trains cadres on labour rights and trade union building. WAC female members march on International Women’s Day and on May Day to demand their rights, and above all their right to work.

WAC still has a long way to go, but it has certainly succeeded in creating a corner stone for a flourishing movement of women workers who want not only a job but also demand dignity.