Trade Union Training for Women Agricultural Workers: Graduates Speak

Waffa Tiara

There couldn’t have been a more appropriate day than International Labor Day to grant diplomas to women agricultural workers, graduates of the first course held by the Workers Advice Center (WAC) for training in union skills. And indeed, when the seven graduates, all of them from Kufr Qara, came up onto the stage in Tel Aviv’s Cinematheque Square to receive the diplomas, they met with enthusiastic applause from the audience: WAC activists, artists, members of other workers’ rights organizations and friends.

Hala Muslemani, 20 years working in the field and today a team leader, was asked about how she felt upon receiving the diploma. She replied, “I had mixed feelings. I was happy, since for the first time I felt respected as a worker and was granted a diploma which is precious to me. At the same time I was sad for all the years I lost in unorganized labor. Therefore I promised myself I would take part in and support any event which supports the working class, because all workers, no matter where they are from, suffer the same hardships and poor conditions.”

For five months the women met once every fortnight, after a hard day’s work in agriculture and after housework and caring for their children. The graduates constitute WAC’s first trade union cadre, women who are aware of their rights, who are capable of handling a negotiation with the proprietor, and can lead a team of workers skillfully and competently.

Assaf Adiv, WAC’s general manager and the course leader, explained his goals: “The need to educate trade union cadres is growing as WAC’s activities expand. The graduates can solve problems at the workplace between the workers and the farmer, and among the workers themselves, on the spot. If we succeed in providing these workers with a better understanding of the economic, social and political reality, it will establish a base for activity at the workplace. They will instruct the other workers, and unify new workers in the framework of WAC. Aware and confident workers can initiate, bring up new ideas and therefore build a strong trade union. In this way we create the seed that will enable a workers’ union to expand and deepen limitlessly, no longer depending just on WAC’s small permanent staff which is already thinly spread between the various tasks.”

Michal Schwartz, coordinator of WAC’s Women’s Forum, said, “The course gave the participants a new type of empowerment, which combines feminist empowerment with professional empowerment. This is a quantum leap for them. None of them took for granted the idea that they could become labor leaders. One of the results of the course was that they learned to speak in the plural, ‘us’ instead of just ‘I’, when talking about the group. The course provided them with the skills and patience required to deal with a situation where most of the women are employed by middlemen who exploit them, and therefore are ashamed of their work in agriculture and are in despair. They can also contend with another situation, which is that most Arab women do not even participate in the job market.” I asked the women who graduated the course where they found the strength to attend the course so persistently, going back to the school bench after all these years, and to insist on continuing even when worn out after a hard day’s work. Nawal Atamneh replied, “I saw the course as the only opportunity I’ve got. I worked for many years without finding any association to support me as a worker. I changed workplaces endlessly and I was exploited by employers and middlemen, who kept part of my salary to themselves. Today, organized through WAC and working directly for the employer without the mediation of the middleman, we need new knowledge and skills, so we’ll be aware of our rights and to strengthen our ability to remain in the job market, which is so chaotic.”

The course consisted of 14 sessions, which covered various subjects such as: what is the employer-employee relationship and how does one negotiate with the employer; labor laws, including those which refer to working women; understanding the structure of the pay slip; accident prevention and safety and what to do if an accident occurs; the importance of a pension plan to the worker; the condition of agriculture in Israel; the state of employment of Arab women in Israel; establishing friendly relationships among a group of workers; the role of a trade union; and the importance of a political party of workers. The course included lectures by WAC staff as well as external speakers. Among the guest lecturers were Jamal Medalej, a financial advisor from the Ministry of Agriculture, who spoke about the state of agriculture in Israel; Yoav Gershon, from the Institute of Safety and Hygiene, who explained the safety principals in agriculture; and Jesus Buen Ramon, from the Spanish trade union CIG in the region of Galicia, who lectured about the importance of trade unions. The meeting with Buen Ramon was one of the most exciting moments of the course. His words, “a worker without a union is like dust in the wind,” entered the hearts of the participants, and helped to convince them to maintain strong ties with WAC and to take part in creating a trade union, even if it seems like a distant goal.

Nawal At'amneh spoke of the new understanding she acquired from the course: “Before the course, I accepted my workplace as it was, even if I didn’t like it. Today I’m a representative of WAC in my workplace, and I tell my fellow workers about WAC activities and encourage them to participate. I also recruit new workers to organized labor through WAC. Mostly, I manage the group, more by consultation and persuasion, and less through pressure and orders from the boss.”

Hala Muselmani added, “I have no doubt that this course enriches and provides me with the ability to manage a group at work, because organized labor through WAC is so different to the chaotic methods we were used to, in which personal interests ruled. Today I can lead the group by means of solidarity and cooperation within, and I’m also able to negotiate with the farmer to ensure that we receive what we are legally entitled to. I have all the skills I need to convince women of the importance of joining WAC and organized labor, which is especially important since women are the most vulnerable group in the job market.”

The subjects discussed in the course were not dry, dull or disconnected, but were strongly linked to the women’s day-to-day reality. They didn’t only learn from the lecturers, but also from one another, especially during the discussions they had concerning problems they experienced with the employers and among the workers themselves.

As Siham Alawi explained, “The course gave me confidence that I am able to manage new WAC members. I can explain to them the pay slip they receive at the end of the month, and I know how to fill forms related to the job or work accidents. It has become clear to me that improving the state of the working class depends on the level of their solidarity, and their ability to organize under a trade union that protects them and negotiates with employers. It is our responsibility to raise the awareness of the workers, and recruit them to WAC.”

The final session was the highlight of the course, and the real test of its success, as participants summarized the lectures and discussed their conclusions. Their seriousness was reflected in the suggestions they raised on how to maintain their achievements after the course ends. Hala Muselmani suggested that each leader bring her group to the WAC office in Kufr Qara once a month, to discuss problems and changes in the workplace, and to have them participate in the recruitment of new workers to new workplaces that WAC opens for them. Carima Ikhiyeh suggested that they do home visits to unorganized agriculture workers, to assist them in ending their exploitation, and to raise their awareness about the advantages of organized labor. Both suggestions were accepted.

Walla Abu Shareb, the youngest among the workers, summarized her conclusions: “Before the course I wasn’t aware of the issue of unionization. Today I’m not willing to just accept the poor conditions of the working class as my destiny. It is possible to improve these conditions, and it depends on the level of awareness and understanding of the importance of joining a union, and also on their willingness to pay the membership fee, so the union will have the authorization and strength to represent them confronting the employers.”

Abu Sharab said that in the past she was ashamed to tell her friends that she packs lettuce for a living, while they work as shop assistants in air-conditioned stores. Today she knows her salary is higher than theirs, and she’s proud of her job. “The course gave me self-confidence and a strong belief in my ability to lead other workers,” she said. “Everything I learned I told my family and friends at work, and I advise my friends to join WAC. I’m proud to be the new type of agriculture worker, meaning that I enjoy all my rights, and I am not exploited by middlemen.”

Due to the success of the course, WAC has decided to conduct similar courses in Baqa El Garbiya and Kufr Manda next year, after Ramadan.