Zambian flower workers
Country: Zambia | Partner: NUPAAW
Aims
- Improve the working conditions and income of workers in export-orientated industries
- Organise currently unrepresented poor and marginalised women workers
- Promote representation, accountability and transparency in democratic workers' organisations
- Empower women workers so that they can influence decision-making processes and demand their rights
Achievements
- NUPAAW has successfully engaged with the Zambian Farm Employers' Association (ZEFA) and are in negotiation for a collective bargaining agreement. This is an important first step in securing better conditions for flower workers.
Facts
- In Zambia, women flower workers are not given the same rights as their male counterparts. They often work on temporary contracts and rarely get promoted.
- Many of Zambia's farms are under foreign ownership, hostile to the work of NUPAW and other unions.
The National Union of Plantation, Agricultural and Allied Workers (NUPAAW) is one of the leading unions for farm workers in Zambia. With seven regional offices, they count 12,000 members in the sector, evenly divided between men and women. War on Want is supporting NUPAAW in a project that particularly helps women flower workers in the country.
Farm owners in Zambia often deliberately recruit women, believing them to be more reliable and "easier to handle". But though they make up a large percentage of the workforce, they are rarely promoted to managerial positions. Most are employed on seasonal contracts, without the benefits of a permanent contract like housing and transportation allowances.
They are rarely given any allowances for maternity leave, working right up until they give birth, and expected back at work as soon as possible after. And as many women flower workers are the heads of households, who rely on their paycheck to feed their children, they can have an extremely difficult time arguing for their rights. Often victims of sexual harassment and abuse from their supervisors, women flower workers are particularly vulnerable. For these reasons NUPAAW is campaigning to ensure women's rights are being respected.
NUPAAW is working to achieve its goals through training, campaigning and counselling. With War on Want's support, the union will run workshops on or nearby flower farms to develop the leadership skills of women workers. These will educate workers in their rights and enable them to help their female colleagues. Women's committees on farms will also be developed and the union will establish peer counselling groups for women flower workers who are HIV positive or living with AIDS.
War on Want is proud to support NUPAAW's projects empowering women flower workers in Zambia.
