Cameroon 2014Households whose income meets ‘basic needs’‘Basic needs’ have been defined as food, rent, utilities, family, and community expenditure and school fees. The wage system used by CDC is extremely complex and plantation workers experience a lot of financial uncertainty with pay fluctuating from month to month.

Plantation workers are still not earning enough to meet their basic household needs. When the amount of income immediately available was calculated, only 9% of households had enough income to meet their monthly expenditure. This excluded ‘savings’ which included loan repayments and contributions to large expenditures such as school fees. Even if perceived ‘savings’ are included as available income, only 24% of households can meet their basic needs. This represents just a 1% increase on last year’s findings.

Mean monthly income is 38,774 FCFA (£41.50) in low season and 52,898 FCFA (£56.60) in peak season, yet the average monthly expenditure is 90,001 FCFA (£96.40). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported that prices of main food items have increased during 2014 in Cameroon by roughly 20%. Food is the main household expenditure for workers at the plantation. 86% of the workers therefore report that they do not feel they are able to adequately feed their families.

Working and living conditions in the banana sector of South West Cameroon This report summarises the research carried out, in partnership with Banana Link and the Fako Agricultural Workers Union (FAWU), as part of a project entitled ‘Securing Decent Work in tropical fruit production’. The findings build upon the previous year’s research giving an account of progress during the second project year. Research was carried out on plantations owned by the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) – the largest private employer in the country - where 202 workers from 12 farms were interviewed.

Bananas constitute the fifth largest export earner for Cameroon. However, the decision by the World Trade Organisation to end Africa’s preferential treatment to the European market in 2008 has put the Cameroonian banana industry at risk. Facing competition from Latin America Cameroon’s banana sector has been drastically affected, putting pressure on the industry to increase its productivity. This pressure has put a strain on plantation workers to work over 48 hours per week, for low wages and without the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), which increases the risk of work related accidents. This research focused on a number of project indicators used to measure living and working conditions including wage levels and working hours.

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Women and men are both paid at the same rates. However, when interviewed some women reported earning between 16% and 28% less than their male colleagues. FAWU will investigate whether a gender pay gap exists by consulting with members through their women’s education programme.

In addition to CDC there is one other banana production company operating in the Fako region known as Plantations-Haut-Penja (PHP). At PHP independent research found workers were earning 22% more than CDC workers during low season and 27% more during peak season.

Debt continues to be a recurring problem. 76% of the workers interviewed stated that they were in debt, the majority of it having accumulated to cover basic family expenditures such as food and school fees. Women reported borrowing 46% more often than men.

Supervisors can deduct wages pro-rata for incomplete tasks or late arrival at work. 31% of workers reported receiving pro-rata deductions in the last month. This is a notable reduction of 48% from the previous year. FAWU believe substantially improved labour relations have led to a significant decrease in pro rata reductions.

Since the research was conducted FAWU have reported two significant changes to wage levels that would not have impacted on take home pay at the time

of research. In July 2014 the Government agreed that the minimum wage would be raised from 28,000 FCFA (£30) to 36,270 FCFA (£38). FAWU was a stakeholder in negotiations that successfully concluded in January 2015 to raise the Agricultural Minimum Wage by more than 6000 FCFA for the lowest categories. It is therefore expected that as these raises are implemented a much greater percentage of workers will be able to meet their basic household costs in 2015.

“Sometimes I have to borrow money for the two last weeks before my salary in order to survive. Sometimes I borrow money to buy food, to buy work attire, like boots for work.”

Working hoursPlantations in Cameroon operate 20 hours a day, seven days a week. There is a legal maximum working week of 48 hours, with some exceptions allowed. However, there is an absolute legal ban on working more than 60 hours a week.

42 out of 202 workers interviewed reported never working over 48 hours per week during the year. 44% of workers (both those paid an hourly rate and those paid by incentive) reported working more than 48 hours during the low season, increasing to 77% in the peak season.

Overall both women and men are working long hours, with nearly half not believing that they are getting paid for all of the work they complete. Nearly three quarters also believe that the reason for working long hours is determined by the need to meet production quotas and that they therefore do not a have a choice. Research findings show that of those who worked overtime 53% were always paid for doing so.

FAWU also report that workers are often working longer hours because of delays in receiving materials necessary for undertaking the tasks at hand and a lack of adequate transport to and from the plantation.

However, FAWU have now successfully negotiated with CDC for four of the fourteen banana plantations to have a usual finishing time of 6pm.

“I once slept at the plantation as there was no transport and the production quota meant I was working long hours so it wasn’t worth going home for the night.”

Awareness of basic labour rightsWorkers need to know their rights in order to ensure that they are properly respected. In year two of the project workers began to receive basic education to raise their awareness of their rights.

Overall 67% of workers claim to have an awareness of their basic labour rights. However, when probed for examples many were unable to give one or understood a right to mean a responsibility.

The research was conducted shortly after FAWU had delivered their first ever programme of worker education. 80% of FAWU members who were interviewed had participated in this training programme. 78% of those who attended the talks knew their rights as workers compared to only 41% of those who didn’t attend the training. Participation in education therefore almost doubled worker awareness of their rights.

Provision of appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on banana plantations includes gloves, safety glasses, boots, respirators, overalls, and full body suits. Health and safety risks should be fully assessed, analysed and controlled as effectively as possible before resorting to the need for protective equipment.

Almost all workers interviewed said they needed PPE for their job and 85% indicated they had received PPE within the last 12 months. This is a 14% increase on the number of workers receiving any PPE in 2013.

Although the majority of workers are receiving PPE almost half are not receiving appropriate PPE or receiving it regularly enough to provide them with adequate protection for the duration of their work. Some workers suggested they only received PPE when safety checks were due to take place at the plantation by visitors. Just 9% of workers indicated their PPE lasted until they were given new supply.

The lack of durability of PPE issued often leads workers to repair or buy new equipment; over 90% of those interviewed suggested this was the case. The average worker spends over 8,500 FCFA (£9.00) on PPE per year which reduces take home pay and some workers reported that this may discourage them from attending work. For example, one worker reported not being able to afford the correct PPE until pay day and therefore chose to be absent until he was able to purchase some new rain boots.

Work related accidents and illnessLong working hours and the physical demands of banana work mean that work related accidents and illness are common. Almost one third of respondents reported having an eye infection within the past 12 months. Respiratory problems were less prevalent, with 13% reporting breathing difficulties in the past year. Fatigue was one of the most common health problems highlighted with 92 participants saying that they felt fatigued every day. 85% reported pains within the last 12 months with over half of workers saying they experienced body pain every day. Over two thirds of workers reported stress.

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Approximately 35% stated they had health problems relating to the absence of the correct PPE within the last 12 months. This is a 20% decrease in incidences.

Childcare provisionThere is no current childcare provision. The average number of children per worker is three. With a mean average of 54 hours work per week in low season and 64 hours per week in peak season, it is evident that many workers, especially women, struggle to combine family life with work at the plantation. Among workers with children, almost 90% had been unable to attend work due to lack of childcare at least once in the last 12 months.

At the time of research, fewer than 20% of workers were spending money on childcare. These workers spend between 5,000 to 25,000 FCFA (£5 to £27) on childcare each month. Importantly, both female and male workers have childcare expenditures; childcare is therefore not only a concern for female workers, but

also a concern for male workers who are single parents or have a companion who is also working.

90% of banana workers want the CDC to provide childcare. Of these 95% would prefer to receive an allowance instead of bringing their children to a childcare facility at the plantation. Dangerous transport to the workplace and regular aerial spraying of agrochemicals means many parents do not believe banana plantations are a safe place for their children.

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Conclusions1) Most workers are still unable to meet their basic

needs especially given the significant rise in food costs. However FAWU believe that increases to the National Minimum Wage and National Agricultural Minimum Wage will substantially increase the number of workers able to meet household costs in 2015.

2) A significant number of workers are working over the legal maximum of 48 hours per week. However having successfully negotiated a usual finishing time of 6pm on four plantations, FAWU aims to negotiate further earlier finish times throughout CDC banana production.

3) Worker education has almost doubled worker awareness of their rights. It is important that future education enables workers to clearly understand the difference between rights and responsibilities. FAWU will be delivering further education in 2015 with a focus on empowering women members.

4) More workers are receiving PPE however almost half believe that it is either inappropriate for their role or is not replaced regularly enough.

5) Levels of work related accidents and illness remain similar to last year. However it is hoped that health and safety standards will be improved in 2015 and beyond due to project activity. This will include the training of Health and Safety Committee members (with the support of the International Union of Food Workers) and participation of both FAWU and CDC in the Banana Occupational Health and Safety Initiative (BOHESI,) which aims to strengthen these committees.

6) Whilst workers want childcare provision it is imperative that parents are consulted about the specifics of this provision especially given the concerns expressed about aerial spraying.

‘Securing Decent Work in tropical fruit production’ is a three year project which aims to educate and empower workers and their unions to negotiate improved living and working conditions. Banana Link works with FAWU (Fako Agricultural Workers Union) and GAWU (the General Agricultural Workers Union of Ghana TUC) to build their capacity and engage in dialogue with national and international supply chain actors. As part of the project researchers from the University of East Anglia conduct face-to-face interviews with workers to provide annual monitoring of project progress.

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