Wafa Tiara conducted the interview
Wafa felt exploited and humiliated. She did not receive pay slips, was paid less than the minimum wage, did not enjoy any social rights, and coped with serious transportation problems. The shuttle would leave from Fureidis to Jisr al-Zarqa to pick up additional women workers. In Jisr, the shuttle ended and the employees had to load into another vehicle. From there they went to Jewish town Hadera, where they changed cars yet again to reach the packing house. The trip lasted some two hours. Wafa left her house before 4 am and started work at 6 am. At the end of the day these travel arrangements were repeated.
Towards the end of 2008, Wafa heard about MAAN (which began a women’s employment project in 2005) and obtained the phone number of Wafa Tiara, MAAN’s women’s employment coordinator in Baqa al-Gharbiyeh . She continued to work at the same place, but this time through MAAN and not a contractor. It was, Wafa said, “like the difference between heaven and earth.” MAAN arranged a direct shuttle from Fureidis to the packing house, with no vehicle changes necessary. Secondly, Wafa started receiving a pay slip and social benefit., and “that was when my life began to change,” she says. “It’s true that I earned minimum wage and the work was seasonal, but I didn’t feel exploited. At the end of each season, the packing house organized a recreational trip, thanked us for the work that allowed them to get through the season successfully, and I felt that I and the other MAAN workers were respected. I felt like a queen, and for the first time I wasn’t ashamed to say that I work in agriculture.
Not that there weren’t difficulties, Wafa says, but MAAN stood behind us when any abuse took place, solving problems as they occurred. Although we sometimes worked from six in the morning until six in the evening, we were treated well. I think the employers knew that we had backing, and it also helped them to organize the work better. MAAN workers undoubtedly lasted longer at their jobs, while women who worked for subcontractors dropped out constantly because they felt exploited and humiliated. After about three years, Bwirat registered to a weekly, half-day of training at a college, learning to be a special education assistant, and also how to work on a computer. The packing house allowed Wafa to study and did not fire her, because they saw she was a hard worker and had talents.
“I had a good foundation from high school, and I insisted on learning different tasks in the packing house on my own. I would sit next to a professional worker and learn the work from her, until my bosses recognized me and let me manage it. I stayed at work many hours at my own expense. I learned by myself what needs to be done in the packing house, and thus I became responsible for checking the quality of the produce. I reject unsuitable fruit according to the state of the fruit, size and quality, and decide what is exported abroad and what goes to the local market. In the same way, I also learned some principles of graphics from the people in charge at the factory, and I design stickers for every company that buys from the packing house. I also participate in board meetings and various events.” Wafa Bwirat’s salary increased from minimum wage (NIS 29.12 per hour) to NIS 43 per hour.
Wafa Tiara: You married a man in the small village Bwirat, where most of the married women do not work. How was it received?
Bwirat: “Work became an integral part of my life many years before I got married. Indeed, I was criticized more than once in the village. People said I work too many hours, and that it is unnecessary as my husband can provide for me. I explained to my husband that work is not only a means of earning a living, but also a means of feeling my value as a human being. My husband was convinced. I now have a car, I get to work myself, and am reimbursed for travel expenses.
Tiara: From your experience, what would you recommend to working women or those who want to join the labor market?
Bwirat: Women today are more aware of their rights as workers, which is important. Receiving a salary in accordance with the law, social rights, the ability to be promoted and good treatment are essential conditions. From my experience, I know it’s important for women to have the backing of a union, such as MAAN which, for example, organizes women in work teams, usually reliant on their own transportation, thereby saving them the need to rely on exploitative subcontractors to reach work. The humiliation of working through a contractor who exploits you just because he drives you to work cannot be described. There are dozens more permanent employees of MAAN in the packing house, among them employees who have advanced and been appointed to be head of departments. Some are women aged 50 or older, who started working after their children grew up, and some are young. I encourage them and help them in every way I can.
