1. Cameroon 2014
Households 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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2. 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 hours
Plantations 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 rights
Workers 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 illness
Long 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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3. 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 provision
There 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.
More information
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Conclusions
1) 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.
Banana Link, 42-58 St George’s Street, Norwich NR3 1AB