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Workers should participate at the negotiating table when governments make trade agreements. The worker is the one who produces and makes money. When they have their trade meetings, why don't they say, 'We want a group of workers involved and we will to take their needs into account?' - Ana Guzman, Farmworker, Washington State. Women workers in the United States and Central America are struggling to feed their families, earn a livable wage and fight for their rights in the workplace. Women strive to survive in a hostile workplace that neither recognizes their rights as women or as workers. And yet, these women are not just statistics, they have voices, ideas and solutions to add to the debate on the Central American Free Trade Agreement.
Women workers are toiling in horrible conditions with very little protection. Corporations are taking advantage of their poverty to offer starvation wages and forcing them to work in unsafe conditions. And, trade agreements are opening the door for this exploitation. Without strong labor protections written into trade agreements, there will be little enforcement of widely accepted labor and safety standards. Corporations will use this to their advantage, shopping for the cheapest labor and intimidating workers from organizing. Carolina is an organizer in a maquila (a factory, usually foreign-owned, that is set up to assemble goods for export) in Guatemala. Over the past year, she and her co-workers in the factory have faced violent threats and repeated harassment as they have tried to form a labor union. According to Carolina, free trade will create even worse conditions in Guatemala. She knows that corporations will continue to push workers to accept less money and worse conditions by using the threat of relocation and the loss of jobs. According to Carolina: Oh, like saying 'Let's go to Nicaragua' or 'Let's go to El Salvador'-it could become a big competition, if in El Salvador they do the same work for less pay. So they'd leave us here without work. I also think that the Labor Ministry takes part, the way that the Labor Ministers say, 'Fine, so here the law doesn't apply' so that the maquilas stay put. The businessmen say, 'In Guatemala the laws are stricter than in El Salvador, so let's go to El Salvador.'There is the continuing myth that jobs created by international investors and free trade agreements bring women out of poverty, however, without the support of unions or the ability to negotiate fair wages, jobs in export processing zones often leave women with a little more than the barest necessities. According to Carmen, a mother of three who works on a banana plantation in Guatemala, corporations are increasingly cutting the already low wages and denying workers benefits. Carmen states: The work is on contract and it does not pay enough to be able to support a family. And more than that, these are not stable jobs. You work for a time and then they fire you and later you're rehired. This way, you aren't paid benefits, your Christmas bonus, vacation, and production bonuses. With this type of work, many people are leaving as migrants to other countries and they send a few pennies back to help out their families left behind. Trade agreements are not only affecting women as workers, but also as consumers of public services. As trade agreements continue the march toward privatization of public services, many women are left to pick up the pieces of caring for their families. Or they are left with making difficult choices between medical care or food, schooling or rent, and in many situations not enough to afford either. Bessy is a pharmacist in El Salvador. She has struggled to fight the privatization of the healthcare system in El Salvador, not only because it will impact her ability to make a decent living but also because she knows the potential impact on the poor of her country. In a recent interview, Bessy explained the situation: The government is saying, 'With privatization, old women won't have to travel to the capital from their village. They'll have clinics in their town.' It's true that the woman might not have to pay bus fare, but she won't be able to pay for the appointment, or for the medicine, or for everything else. Sometimes in our country, women don't get prenatal care because they can't afford it-it's about US$2 now. And there are people who don't have that. Women from throughout Central America are struggling every day to build better lives. It is vital that we listen to their stories and recommendations. Trade agreements should recognize their rights as women and as workers. Women like Ana, Carolina, Carmen, and Bessy are women who are organizing and fighting unfair labor practices. They are not victims but active participants in building a stronger economic future for their families. Ana has led protests and delegations to meet with members of the World Trade Organization. Carolina has continued to fight the anti-union behavior of the owners of the factory where she works, and with the support of many solidarity groups, she and her co-workers are continuing to negotiate a contract. And Bessy is educating people through out El Salvador about the hazards of privatization, while continuing to press her government to reject CAFTA. STITCH believes that no trade agreement should go forward without listening to the voices of the thousands of women workers and protecting their rights to organize and to meet the basic needs of themselves and their families.
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