I had not really given thought to the actual breakdown respondents to be interviewed until
I worked through the different types of women I wished to capture in this
study. It is a very complex situation as there are:-
1. Women who are members in the cooperatives.
This is the tricky part because my research is about women workers in oil palm plantations but in
the case of cooperatives, women collectively own the plantation. They make up part of
the general assembly which dictates the running of the plantation. They own
the capital collectively and make decisions collectively. The distinction is great between cooperatives and multi-national corporations. Cooperatives do not have huge amounts capital and resources at their disposal. Alternatively, I can expand the idea of women's involvement in the industry to include cooperative membership of women. This model is more empowering where women are given larger roles and not merely
exploited for labour.
2. Women employed by cooperative. They are
not members of the cooperative but they do enjoy benefits from social aid
provided by the cooperative.
3. Women members of the cooperative who hold
position in committees. They are also called officers for they are office
bearers in terms of their membership in the various committees. These positions
are not appointed but elected. The women actually compete in an election
process. However there's the all mighty Board of Directors (BOD) level which is still
out of the reach of women. There is significant resistance from women against
running for the BOD positions.
4. Women members who are staffers. This
practice is actually discouraged by the Cooperative Development Authority. However, this practice still takes place in
MAPARBEMPCO but not in KARBEMPCO.
5. Women who are staff. These are women
who have been hired due to their expertise/educational level/ relationship to
co-op members/ experience in running the management of the plantation, like
Genevive Bajala of MAPARBEMPCO.
Though both cooperatives have
different qualifying factors in the memberships; membership in MAPARBEMPCO was due to landownership of the community in Barangay Mapantig. Membership in KARBEMPCO
was due to the employment of members in the previous company where the middle management and
labourers formed a union which was covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programme (CARP) during Aquino's era.
Unfortunately in both cases, women were left out. The participation of women in this process was limited. This was dues to two main factors:-
i. Women are not usually employed in oil
palm plantation because it requires hard labour, and therefore relegated to men. Women
are usually employed as loose fruit pickers. This is probably the lowest waged
labour in the plantation but it is back breaking work nonetheless. There are about
40 odd women employed in both Kenram - MAPARBEMPCO and Kenram - KARBEMPCO. Women who are also employed as staff at the management level. The highest
position in management is held by Gen Bajala of MAPARBEMPCO. She was appointed
to the position 3 years ago. She is the first female and non-member general
manager ever to be employed in Kenram-MAPARBEMPCO.
ii. Women were not recognized as
heads of households. Many men benefited from CARP in Mapantig. Many women only
inherited the membership from deceased partners/spouses. At present there are
only 46 women out of 300 members in MAPARBEMCO. It is clear they do not make up
the critical number to bring about any meaningful impact in terms of women led
initiatives. In terms of membership in
KARBEMPCO only workers (management staff and labourers) were organized in a co-op which eventually gained the ownership of the land. At present, only 110 women make up the
membership of the KARBEMPCO which stands at 410 in total.
Nevertheless, the CARP programme and co-op model of ownership bodes well for women in the long run if their positions and capacities can be strengthened. Some of the ways this can be done is through policy and law reform:-
ii. Ensuring co-op members are exposed to gender-sensitization programmes to address conservative
cultural practices which inhibit women's participation in co-ops
iii. Empower women to take on positions of leadership within co-ops. Develop specific programmes to
build the capacity of women and raise their awareness.
iv. Ensure and guarantee the benefits of the CARP for women as a means to eradicate rural
poverty that predominantly affects women.
Household Respondents Breakdown
Criteria
|
MAPARBEMPCO
|
KARBEMPCO
|
Members
|
5
|
5
|
Workers (loose fruit pickers & non co-cop members)
|
10
|
10
|
Members (Elected to committees)
|
8
|
8
|
Staff
|
2
|
2
|
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