A trade union to defend the rights of Tunisia’s women farm labourers – Equal Times

Report on the Status of Women Agricultural Workers in Tunisia and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: Labor Rights and Sustainable Development Challenges

The 2021 formation of the FOSA union for women agricultural workers in Tunisia, under the umbrella of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), marks a significant development in addressing labor rights for a highly exploited segment of the workforce. The conditions faced by these workers present a critical challenge to Tunisia’s progress on several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those concerning poverty, gender equality, health, and decent work. This report analyzes the situation through the framework of the SDGs.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

The working conditions of women farm laborers in Tunisia are in direct opposition to the principles of SDG 8, which promotes sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. Key indicators highlight a systemic failure to provide decent work:

• Informal Employment: A 2023 study by the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) found that 92% of women farm laborers work in the informal economy, denying them legal protection and social security.
• Sub-Minimum Wages: 98% of these workers receive wages below the agricultural sector’s legal minimum of 20 dinars per day, undermining economic security.
• Exploitative Intermediaries: The ‘wasit’ (intermediary) system, which manages recruitment and transport, often results in workers losing approximately 30% of their earnings, further diminishing their income.
• Precarious Conditions: Workers endure long hours in extreme temperatures, often without legally mandated rest periods, to meet picking quotas.

These factors contribute to a cycle of precarious employment that inhibits economic growth and fails to protect labor rights as outlined in SDG 8.

SDG 5: Persistent Barriers to Gender Equality

The agricultural day labor sector in Tunisia is highly feminized, with women constituting up to 90% of the workforce in some regions. This reality underscores significant challenges to achieving SDG 5 (Gender Equality). The sector’s poor pay and conditions are deemed unacceptable for men, relegating this essential work to women and reinforcing gender-based economic disparity.

Violations of SDG 5 targets are evident in several areas:

1. Violence and Harassment: 78% of women workers report experiencing some form of violence, including sexual violence, in the workplace.
2. Economic Disempowerment: Patriarchal traditions and interpretations of inheritance law have historically prevented women from owning land, limiting their economic autonomy, although this is slowly changing.
3. Legislative Gaps: While Tunisia has progressive legislation, such as the 2017 law against gender-based violence, a lack of enforcement fails to protect women workers effectively.

SDG 3: Critical Deficits in Good Health and Well-being

The health and safety of women agricultural workers are severely compromised, directly contravening the objectives of SDG 3. Two primary areas of concern are transportation and chemical exposure.

• Unsafe Transportation: The transport of workers in open-back trucks, described as “like cattle,” has led to numerous fatal accidents. FTDES data since 2015 records 69 road accidents, resulting in 55 deaths and 835 injuries. This represents a critical failure to ensure occupational safety.
• Hazardous Chemical Exposure: Workers are exposed to over 200 authorized pesticides, including approximately 50 that are banned in the European Union due to health risks. Exposure to probable carcinogens like malathion is linked to unusually high local rates of cancer, respiratory illnesses, infertility, and dermatitis, posing a severe public health risk.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

The gap between legislation and implementation points to institutional weaknesses, a core concern of SDG 16. Despite the existence of laws designed to protect workers, enforcement is minimal.

• Law 51 (2019): This law, regulating the transport of female agricultural workers, has not been effectively implemented due to a lack of state oversight mechanisms.
• Social Protection Decree: A decree to establish social protection and health coverage for these workers has yet to be implemented.

The state’s failure to enforce its own laws denies these workers access to justice and protection. Furthermore, political tensions between the government and the UGTT risk undermining the advocacy required to compel institutional accountability and resource allocation for enforcement.

Conclusion: Unionization as a Catalyst for Progress

Despite the significant challenges, the establishment and growth of the FOSA union represent a positive step towards achieving the SDGs for Tunisia’s women agricultural workers. The union’s membership has grown from 86 to nearly 500, and it has successfully negotiated a modest pay increase. This collective action is increasing awareness of rights and empowering women to advocate for themselves. The union’s efforts are a crucial grassroots mechanism for advancing SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 8 (Decent Work), holding institutions accountable and pushing for the realization of fundamental human and labor rights.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 5: Gender Equality

   • The article focuses on the specific challenges faced by women in the agricultural sector in Tunisia. It highlights systemic gender-based discrimination, such as women being relegated to the most exploitative jobs, facing high rates of violence, and having unequal inheritance rights to land. The creation of a women-specific trade union (FOSA) is a direct effort to achieve gender equality in the workplace.

2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • The core of the article discusses the lack of decent work for women farm labourers. It details issues like informal employment, wages below the legal minimum, lack of social security, unsafe working conditions (extreme heat, dangerous transport), and the exploitative role of intermediaries (wasits). The formation of the union aims to secure better labor rights and working conditions.

3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • The article explicitly addresses severe health and safety risks. This includes the high number of deaths and injuries from road accidents in “death trucks” and the health consequences of exposure to hazardous pesticides, which are linked to cancer, infertility, and respiratory problems. The lack of health coverage for these workers is also a key issue.

4. SDG 1: No Poverty

   • The article implies a connection to poverty through its discussion of extremely low wages. It states that “98 per cent receive pay that is below the minimum wage,” which is a direct indicator of working poverty. The lack of social protection systems, such as social security and health cover, further exacerbates their economic vulnerability.

5. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   • The article highlights multiple layers of inequality. There is a significant gender pay gap and disparity in working conditions, as these jobs are described as so undesirable that “men don’t want to do” them. Furthermore, the article points to legal and traditional inequalities, such as patriarchal traditions and laws preventing women from inheriting land, which perpetuates economic disparity between men and women.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. SDG 5: Gender Equality

   • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls. The article states that “78 per cent report having suffered some form of violence at work, including sexual violence.”
   • Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership. The creation of the FOSA union and the leadership role of figures like Munira Laheg directly relate to this target.
   • Target 5.a: Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land. The article mentions that women “have traditionally been prevented by a patriarchal tradition – and Sharia, or Islamic law – from inheriting their parents’ land.”

2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • Target 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men… and equal pay for work of equal value. The article highlights that 98% of women farm labourers are paid below the minimum wage, a clear violation of the principle of decent work and fair pay.
   • Target 8.8: Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers. This is central to the article, which details unsafe transport (“death trucks”), exposure to hazardous chemicals, lack of social security for 92% of workers, and work in the informal economy.

3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • Target 3.6: Halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents. The article provides specific data on this issue: “69 road accidents involving the transport of women day labourers… resulting in the death of 55 people and the injury of 835 others” since 2015.
   • Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage. The article notes that a decree was passed to establish social protection “which includes health cover, but it is not yet being implemented,” indicating a gap in achieving this target for agricultural workers.
   • Target 3.9: Substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals. The article discusses the use of over 200 pesticides, including some banned in the EU, and links them to “unusually high rates of certain diseases… such as thyroid and lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, infertility or dermatitis.”

4. SDG 1: No Poverty

   • Target 1.3: Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all. The article points out that “92 per cent of women farm labourers… have no social security cover” and that a decree for social protection has not been implemented, showing a failure to extend these systems to a vulnerable group.

5. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of sex. The entire struggle of the women farm labourers, from forming a union to fighting for equal pay and rights, is an effort to achieve social and economic inclusion.
   • Target 10.4: Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality. The article discusses the failure to implement existing laws (Law 51 on transport, decree on social protection) and the need for policies that ensure a minimum wage and safe working conditions, which are essential for reducing inequality.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Indicators for SDG 5

   • Prevalence of violence: The statistic that “78 per cent report having suffered some form of violence at work” serves as a baseline indicator for Target 5.2.
   • Women’s participation in unions: The growth in FOSA’s membership from “86 members” at its founding to “almost 500” can be used as an indicator of women’s participation in decision-making structures (Target 5.5).
   • Land ownership rights: The statement that women are traditionally prevented from inheriting land is a qualitative indicator of legal and social barriers to economic resources (Target 5.a).

2. Indicators for SDG 8

   • Proportion of informal employment: The figure that “92 per cent of women farm labourers work in the informal economy” is a direct indicator.
   • Wage levels: The fact that “98 per cent receive pay that is below the minimum wage” and the mention of the daily wage being less than “20 dinars a day” are clear indicators for decent pay (Target 8.5).
   • Occupational safety: Data on road accidents (55 deaths, 835 injuries) is a stark indicator of unsafe working environments (Target 8.8).

3. Indicators for SDG 3

   • Road traffic mortality and morbidity rate: The specific numbers of deaths (55) and injuries (835) from transport accidents serve as direct indicators for Target 3.6.
   • Prevalence of diseases linked to chemicals: The pharmacist’s anecdotal evidence of “unusually high rates of certain diseases… such as thyroid and lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, infertility or dermatitis” acts as a qualitative indicator for the impact of hazardous chemicals (Target 3.9).
   • Health coverage: The statement that a decree for health cover “is not yet being implemented” is an indicator of the proportion of the population covered by essential health services (Target 3.8).

4. Indicators for SDG 1 & 10

   • Social protection coverage: The statistic that “92 per cent… have no social security cover” is a direct indicator for Target 1.3 and is also relevant to reducing inequality (Target 10.4).

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: equaltimes.org