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Working conditions in Ghana's export processing zone and women's empowerment
Author(s): Faustina Adomaa Obeng, Charlotte Wrigley-Asante and Joseph Kofi Teye
Source:
Work Organisation, Labour & Globalisation
, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Winter 2015), pp. 64-78
Published by: Pluto Journals
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.13169/workorgalaboglob.9.2.0064
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64 Work organisation, labour & globalisation Volume 9, Number 2, Winter 2015
Working conditions in Ghana’s
export processing zone and women’s
empowerment
Faustina Adomaa Obeng, Charlotte Wrigley-Asante and
Joseph Kofi Teye
Faustina Adomaa Obeng is a Teaching Assistant in the
Department of Geography and Resource Development at
the University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
Charlotte Wrigley-Asante is a Senior Lecturer in the
Department of Geography and Resource Development,
University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
Joseph Kofi Teye is a Senior Lecturer in the Department
of Geography and Resource Development, University of
Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
ABSTRACT
Globalisation and the spread of export processing zones (EPZs) have created
new opportunities in Ghana for women to obtain paid work. However, the
empowering effects of this employment are quite poorly understood. This
article examines the relationship between working conditions in EPZs and the
empowerment of women. Although EPZs are globally depicted as characterised
by harsh working conditions which militate against women’s empowerment, the
situation in Ghana is relatively better and this type of employment has enhanced
the economic and psychological well-being of some women. However, the
insecurity of jobs in the EPZs is a major hindrance to their empowerment.
Introduction
Since the 1990s, women’s empowerment has become a critical development objective,
particularly in the developing world where women have largely been denied the
opportunity to make strategic choices in life. A key avenue that presents women with
opportunities to gain access to crucial resources necessary for their empowerment is
employment (Sen, 1999). The increasing numbers of export processing zones (EPZs)
springing up in most parts of the developing world (Chant & McIlwaine, 2009) and the
employment opportunities which these zones offer women provide telling evidence of
the restructuring of the global economy. It has been estimated that, globally, EPZs
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Work organisation, labour & globalisation Volume 9, Number 2, Winter 2015 65
increased from 79 in 1975 to 3,500 in 2006 (Singa Boyenga, 2007), and, strongly
associated with this spurt, has been the worldwide drift of women into paid employment
in these zones (Standing, 1989; 1999; Gunadasa, 2009). About 60% to 80% of the global
EPZ workforce is female, especially concentrated in light factories such as garments,
electronics and textiles (Cirera & Lakshman, 2014).
Like other paid work, EPZ employment presents women with the opportunity to earn
a regular income that improves their economic and decision-making status in the
household (Hancock, 2006a; Peedoly, 2011; Hancock & Edirisinghe, 2012). However, in
contrast to the obvious material and non-material benefits of paid work in EPZs, the
empowering effect of this employment has been questioned. Generally, EPZ employment
is associated with harsh working conditions, which present major challenges to women’s
empowerment (International Labour Organisation [ILO], 2008; Hancock, Middleton,
Moore & Edirisinghe, 2011). Thus, while resources such as income, skills and knowledge
that become available to women because of their employment and their contribution to
female empowerment are highlighted (Hancock & Edirisinghe, 2012), sceptics have
raised concerns about the poor working conditions in these zones and their eventual
effects on women’s empowerment (Khan, 2012; Pepper, 2012).
In the midst of a global debate on EPZ working conditions and their effects on
women’s empowerment, this article examines the situation in Ghana, where limited
studies on the empowering effects of EPZ employment for women exist. The choice of
Ghana for such an analysis is significant. EPZs were established there by an Act of
Parliament which created a free zones programme in 1996. The key research questions
that guide this article include the following: Are EPZ factories in Ghana adhering to
labour standards, which ensure that women benefit fully from the empowering effects of
employment? And are inferior working conditions in these factories presenting major
challenges to women’s empowerment? The article answers these questions with the aim
of contributing to the global debate on EPZ employment and women’s empowerment
with evidence from Ghana.
The literature on EPZ working conditions
and women’s empowerment
The positive effects of paid employment on women’s well-being are well established
(Sen, 1997). A review of the literature indicates that the employment of women in EPZs
has, in many ways, improved their overall conditions within the household and in the
community (Peedoly, 2011; Hancock & Edirisinghe, 2012). EPZ employment is seen as
an improvement in local employment opportunities which provides women with a route
from domestic exploitation (Lim, 1985) and helps them to earn a regular income which
increases their autonomy and improves their economic and social status (Esplen &
Brody, 2007; Hancock & Edirisinghe, 2012). Apart from the obvious economic benefits,
EPZ employment also offers women a unique environment to enjoy personal freedom as
well as cooperation with other women (Rosa, 1994). More so, new skills and knowledge
gained from training programmes and modern production methods adopted in EPZ
factories present women with opportunities to improve their self-worth (Hancock &
Edirisinghe, 2012).
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66 Work organisation, labour & globalisation Volume 9, Number 2, Winter 2015
In spite of the advantages that EPZ employment brings to women, there is also an
abundant literature on the challenges that this employment presents to them, thereby
limiting their ability to empower themselves if not outrightly disempowering them. The
most cited forms of abuse of workers’ rights in EPZs are the long working hours and low
wages that are paid to EPZ women. In a study conducted in Sri Lanka’s EPZs, for
instance, Hancock, Middleton, Moore & Edirisinghe (2011) reported that EPZ
employees, on the average, worked 88 regular hours and 9.62 hours of overtime per
week, which is significantly more than the number of hours that women in other sectors
of the economy work. Indeed, in most EPZs in developing countries, long working
hours continue to persist beyond mandatory regular and overtime hours (International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions [ICFTU], 2004; Amengual & Milberg, 2008). These
long working hours, apart from having effects on the health of EPZ workers (Hancock,
2006b), are also seen as a reason why EPZ women are unable to engage in other
activities in their communities (Peedoly, 2011) and thus serve as a major hindrance to
their empowerment.
The low wages paid to women in EPZs have also been extensively discussed in the
literature. Hancock, Middleton, Moore & Edirisinghe (2011), for instance, reported that
the average monthly salary in Sri Lanka’s EPZ is US$71.92 excluding overtime allowance
and US$95.97 including overtime allowance. This is lower than the national mean
income per month; EPZ workers’ earnings are significantly (31.13%) lower than the
national census average. There is a correlation between the low wages paid in EPZs and
the long working hours that characterises such employment. Amengual & Milberg
(2008) state that the primary reason why most EPZ women work overtime is to earn
additional pay that constitutes an important component of their income.
Even though workers’ unions are supposed to balance the inherently unequal
relationship that exists between employees and employers, as well as enhance the
distribution of the outcomes of productive growth (ICFTU, 1996), there are some forms
of repression on union activities in EPZs. While legal restrictions on freedom of
association in EPZs still exist in some countries (Gopolakrisnan, 2007), workers in other
countries can join labour unions, but labour laws have been altered to make strikes and
lockouts illegal (Madani, 1999). There are situations whereby workers involved in union
activities in EPZs have been suspended or dismissed (Amengual & Milberg, 2008;
Hancock, Middleton, Moore & Edirisinghe, 2011). In extreme cases, the inability of
firms to control the formation of workers’ union has even resulted in those firms closing
down their operations in such locations (ICFTU, 2004).
Occupational health and safety in EPZs has equally been a major source of concern.
EPZ firms throughout the world fail to provide safe working environments for their
predominantly female workforce. Poor ventilation, poor sanitary conditions and blocked
emergency exits are some of the difficulties commonly mentioned in the literature
(ICFTU, 2004; Hancock, 2006b). The ICFTU (2004) reports a factory in Bangladesh
where workers were locked in to work, which caught fire on several occasions. Dunn
(1994, cited in Madani, 1999) also reports a Kader industrial factory fire in Thailand
where 240 workers died in 1993 because of blocked exits.
In addition to these poor conditions of work, women in EPZs lose their jobs more
often than men (Vercillo, 2010). Thus, even though globalisation has opened up many
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Work organisation, labour & globalisation Volume 9, Number 2, Winter 2015 67
employment opportunities in the developing world for women, much of it is low skilled,
low paid and unstable (Ackah, Aryeetey & Opoku, 2012). The generally poor conditions
associated with EPZ work have given this form of employment a ghastly image in many
countries. For instance, female EPZ workers in Sri Lanka keep their employment a
secret from their families and potential spouses because of the societal humiliation they
face (Hancock, Middleton, Moore & Edirisinghe, 2011).
Although many of these negative outcomes seem to be a characteristic of EPZs in
Asia and Latin America, African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET; 2012)
indicates that in some African countries as well more than two-thirds of workers in free
zones have temporary status, and unionisation, although guaranteed under labour
codes, is not enforced. These researchers also noted that in Togo, for instance, people
employed by non-EPZ businesses are better paid than those in the EPZ. Jauch (1997;
2002) also cites cases in Zimbabwe and Namibia where labour laws were relaxed in
EPZs, leading to violations of worker rights.
Although governments in some countries have formulated and enforced labour laws
in their EPZs and pressure by some international organisations on labour standards in
the South American and Caribbean EPZs have resulted in some achievements, it is
generally acknowledged that many countries still lack the resources to enforce labour
laws in their EPZs (Amengual & Milberg, 2008). Mamic (2003) states that although
most firms have made a lot of improvements in terms of occupational health and safety
measures, issues such as restrictions on freedom of association and long working hours
still prove to be difficult for most firms to tackle. According to Burawoy (1985, cited in
Labour Resources and Research Institute [LaRRI], 2000), the violation of labour rights
in most EPZs must be understood as part of the process whereby governments undercut
the standards for specific locations to become attractive sites for investment. Thus,
although globalisation and its associated spread in EPZs has brought about
improvements in women’s employment opportunities, women are not benefiting fully
from the potential empowering effects of employment due to undercutting labour
standards to make such locations competitive.
Conceptualising women’s empowerment
Empowerment is said to happen when those who have been denied power previously
gain it to be able to take decisions concerning their own lives as well as changing gender
relations in the household, community and the state level either through individual or
collective action (Alsop & Heinsohn, 2005). In the gender and development discourse,
women’s empowerment is variously explained to mean a situation where women gain
the ability and self-esteem, through access to critical resources, to take control over their
lives as well as influence strategic life choices. For instance, Sen & Batliwala (2000)
describe empowerment as the process by which the powerless gain greater control over
the circumstances of their lives. This includes both control over resources (physical,
human, intellectual and financial) and over ideology (beliefs, values and attitudes).
Empowerment means not only greater extrinsic control but also a growing intrinsic
capability, greater self-confidence and an inner transformation of one’s consciousness
that enables one to overcome external barriers to access resources or change traditional
ideology. Similarly, Young (2002) employs the concept of empowerment to refer to the
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68 Work organisation, labour & globalisation Volume 9, Number 2, Winter 2015
participation of an agent in decision-making through an effective voice and vote.
Empowerment, in this context, is connected to local autonomy and is a means to include
the participation of oppressed social groups in decision-making on all levels of society.
Malhotra, Schuler & Boender (2002) also view women’s empowerment as a process,
which manifests itself across different dimensions: economic, social, political,
interpersonal/relational, psychological and legal. Economic empowerment includes
women’s access to credit, control over income and contribution to family support. Social
empowerment includes skills acquisition, education and information, and freedom of
movement. Interpersonal and relational empowerment entail women’s participation in
decisions concerning their sexual relations, knowledge of family planning choices and
freedom from violence. Political and legal empowerment include women’s collective
action, knowledge of political and legal systems and exercise of the right to vote.
Psychological empowerment entails women’s self-development, self-esteem and
psychological well-being.
Kabeer’s notion of empowerment is bound up with the conditions of
disempowerment and refers to the processes by which those who have been denied the
ability to make choices acquire such ability. According to Kabeer (2001), the ability to
exercise choice can be thought of in terms of three related dimensions: resources, which
is the precondition; agency, which is the process; and achievement, which is the
outcome. She characterises resources as both material and human, which act as
preconditions that increase the ability to exercise choice; agency as the ability to identify
and utilise resources to make a choice; and achievement as the outcome of actually
making a choice.
In this study, we draw heavily on Kabeer’s (1999) framework of empowerment. We
conceive of empowerment as the achievements in women’s well-being in the economic,
decision-making and psychological dimensions as a result of resources that they have
access to due to their employment in the EPZs. In doing so, however, we recognise that
poor working conditions in EPZs may affect women’s agency negatively and lead to their
disempowerment.
Study sites and research methods
The free zone programme in Ghana operates two schemes: the EPZ Enclave and the
Single Factory Enterprise Free Zone schemes. This allows investors to locate either in
the designated EPZs or in any other location of their choice (Ghana Free Zones Board
[GFZB], 2013). The free zones facilities in Ghana include two free ports, an airport free
zone, 150 free points and four EPZs (ACET, 2012). The four designated EPZ enclaves
are the Tema EPZ, Ashanti Technology Park, Shama Land Bank and Sekondi EPZ, with
only the Tema EPZ operational as at December 2013 (GFZB, 2013). The priority sectors
include agro food processing, especially fruit, vegetables and cocoa processing;
information and communication technology (ICT); textiles and apparel manufacturing;
sea food processing; jewellery and metal fabrication (GFZB, 2013). In December 2013,
there were 234 companies registered under free zones license, of which the majority
were operating under the single enterprise free zone scheme. The primary data used for
this article were collected from three EPZ firms: two garment factories located in the
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Work organisation, labour & globalisation Volume 9, Number 2, Winter 2015 69
Tema EPZ and one fruit-processing factory operating under the single enterprise
scheme.
Methods of data collection
Recent scholarship has shown that, since empowerment is a subjective experience,
qualitative methods are most effective for assessing its various dimensions (Hancock,
2006b; Wrigley-Asante, 2007). Mohanty (1991) argues that the analysis of women’s
position should be based on the realities of their lives as explained by the women
themselves. In-depth interviews were therefore the main method adopted to explore the
complexities of women’s working experiences and their implications for their
empowerment. However, a questionnaire survey of a larger sample was also conducted
in order to explore the representativeness of some of the issues identified during the
in-depth interviews. Our strategy therefore resonates with a sequential exploratory
mixed-methods design to data collection (see Creswell, 2009). Such a triangulation is
appropriate when a researcher wants to get a deeper understanding of issues as well
generalise the findings to a large population (Creswell, 2009; Teye, 2012).
Primary data collection was undertaken in two phases from October 2013 to
January 2014. The first phase was the collection and analysis of qualitative data through
in-depth interviews. We selected 30 women from the three factories for in-depth
interviews. All the interviews were conducted in ‘Twi’, a local Ghanaian dialect, and
were recorded and then transcribed into word documents and analysed manually using
MS Excel Matrix. The themes and variables generated through this careful analysis
helped generate an understanding of the complexities of the women’s working
conditions and their implications for their empowerment. This qualitative phase
contributed to the development of a questionnaire for the survey, which was conducted
in the second phase.
In the second phase, we sampled 20% of the female workforce in each factory. Using
a multistage sampling technique, 184 women were sampled from the three factories and,
with the help of two trained research assistants, we administered questionnaires to these
women at the factory premises. All questions were translated into ‘Twi’ for the women
to answer. After data collection from the main target group, we also conducted
interviews with officers from the GFZB, with managers of the three factories and with
the president of the workers union at the fruit-processing factory, where such an
association existed. Quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for
Social Sciences (SPSS) to generate frequencies and test relationships.
Results and discussion
Working hours and remuneration
The results of the study indicated that EPZ women regularly worked for 8 hours a day
and 40 hours per week, which is consistent with the labour laws of Ghana. The women
were only entitled to 4 hours of overtime work per week. Thus, excessive working hours
beyond regular hours and mandatory national overtime hours, which have been
reported as hallmarks of EPZ operations elsewhere (Amengual & Milberg, 2008), are
not found in the Ghanaian context. Data from the questionnaire survey suggest that,
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70 Work organisation, labour & globalisation Volume 9, Number 2, Winter 2015
contrary to general perception that EPZ women lack the time to engage in other
activities in their households and communities (Hancock, Middleton, Moore &
Edirisinghe, 2011; Peedoly, 2011), the vast majority of the women interviewed in
Ghana’s EPZ reportedly had time to engage in household and other community
activities. One interviewee stated,
I only work for five days in a week and each day I close before 5 pm. So I have the
evenings and the weekends to spend with my family and go for weddings and
funerals as well. (36-year-old interviewee)
The study also showed that women were earning significantly more than Ghana’s
monthly minimum salary of GHC141.48p (US$40). While women with low skills
earned an average of 34.8% more than the minimum salary, those on supervisory and
management categories earned an average of 283% and 709%, respectively, more than
the minimum monthly salary. In the factories where there was the need for overtime,
workers were adequately paid at 150% of the normal daily rate. However, although the
ILO (2012) advocates the payment of allowances when employees work on statutory
holidays, the predominant low-level and casual workers in our sample were not enjoying
this allowance. These women described instances where they had been obliged to work
on holidays but did not receive any allowance, while supervisory and managerial
workers were paid:
With the exception of Christmas, New Year and the Muslim holidays, we come to work on
all holidays in this factory but we, the casual workers, are not paid any allowance;
not even money for transportation. (27-year-old interviewee)
This woman’s assertion resonates with the view that the flexible labour principles
adopted by EPZ factories influence the implementation of labour standards in many
countries (Khan, 2012). Thus, even though workers are being paid well above minimum
monthly rates, the adoption of flexible labour standards prevents these predominantly
low-level and casual workers from being able to claim holiday allowances.
Occupational health and safety
The extent to which workers are protected against risks and hazards related to work is an
essential component of decent work and is one in which most EPZ factories reportedly
fail to provide adequately for their employees (LaRRI, 2000). However, observations of
the working environment in the factories visited in Ghana during the study suggest that
occupational health and safety is quite good there. The factory floors were well
ventilated with enough windows, and at least five major entrances were all open when
we visited. In addition, there were ceiling fans that ensured that the rooms were well
aerated, and there were enough washrooms with regular running water for use by the
workers.
Health and safety training is provided at the factories, which also have clinics with a
registered nurse in attendance during working hours. The very small number (3%) of
women reporting work-related accidents stated that the employers took care of their
medical bills, suggesting that health and safety issues in the factories were not as poor as
the ‘sweatshop’ conditions recorded in other EPZs. These findings are consistent with
the assertion of Peedoly (2011) that increasingly, health and safety issues in EPZ globally
are improving, as a result of strong advocacy by researchers.
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Work organisation, labour & globalisation Volume 9, Number 2, Winter 2015 71
Unionisation in the factories
While health and safety, working hours and remuneration are generally better in the
EPZ factories, workers’ union activities were absent in the two garment factories,
where over 95% of employees are women. Though there were no reported
restrictions on union activities, the predominantly female workers had never tried
to organise themselves into a union. This finding is consistent with the widely held
view that the low tendency for women to organise themselves into a workers union
is one of the reasons why women are the preferred labour force in EPZs (Khan,
2012; Pepper, 2012).
In the fruit-processing factory, where there was an existing workers union, the
management of the factory had made strikes and lockouts illegal, leaving no other
means for the women to resort to if dialogue and negotiations failed to yield results.
This, according to the women, had turned the workers’ union into a welfare organisation
that only organises and contributes money to bereaved workers but has not achieved
much in terms of getting the management to listen to the grievances of workers, because
they cannot resort to strikes. The situation whereby strikes and lockouts are deemed
illegal in EPZ factories is not peculiar to the Ghanaian context. Similar findings have
been reported in other EPZs across the developing world, with some of these restrictions
sometimes emanating not just from the factory owners and managers but also from
national governments (Best, 2005; Amengual & Milberg, 2008; Hancock, Middleton,
Moore & Edirisinghe, 2011).
According to some women, if any worker is seen in the factory as having a lot of
influence and possessing the ability to organise women to demonstrate against
management on certain conditions of work, that person is perceived as a threat and may
be sacked by management with the slightest provocation:
A lot of bad things are happening in this factory but everyone is afraid to lead us on a
demonstration at the factory premises. We are all afraid of losing our jobs so if the
condition is so bad that one can no longer bear it, then you pack your things and
resign. (32-year-old female interviewee)
The situation this woman describes is not so different from what prevails in other EPZs
across the developing world. Pepper (2012) also reports on women whose contracts have
been terminated because of their involvement in union activities.
Contractual agreements and security of employment
The most unfavourable aspect of work for these women, and perhaps the aspect of
their working condition most affected by global competition, was the generally
insecure nature of their employment. The survey results indicated that while 67% of
the women had signed contractual agreements that contained either all or some of the
conditions of their employment, the rest had not even had any formal discussion with
their employers on their conditions of employment nor signed any agreements.
Notwithstanding this, signing a contractual agreement did not ensure the security of
these women’s employment. Women tend to lose their jobs more often than men
because they are mainly casual or permanent employees, mostly located at the lower
ranks of factory activities. Research elsewhere has found that, globally, low-level
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72 Work organisation, labour & globalisation Volume 9, Number 2, Winter 2015
workers in EPZs are the worst affected when global competition becomes more
intense and impels employers to lay off workers to remain competitive (Vercillo,
2010). Since 90.8% of women in this study were employed in low-rank activities in the
factories, it was not surprising that they tended to lose their jobs more often.
Furthermore, all the casual workers were employed in lower rank activities. Thus,
while being a low-level worker comes with the risk of being laid off when global
competition becomes tough, being a casual low-level worker is doubly risky, and this
is the situation that 32.1% of the women, who were casual low-level workers, found
themselves in. It is therefore not surprising that in these factories there were also high
incidences of job loss. As the ILO (2012) has indicated, casual labour remains one of
the most precarious forms of employment, as there is usually little or no security of
employment under such conditions.
In a number of cases, the employees were not even given any prior notice about the
termination of their contracts. For instance, women in one garment factory thought
they had only been given a break from production during the Christmas festivities in
2013, but while still on break, they were told that the factory had shut down its
operation in Ghana due to global competition. They were thus laid off without any prior
notice. This action contravenes the ILO’s (2001) guidelines, which state that in
considering major changes that involve collective lay-offs or dismissals, consultation
should be undertaken with workers so as to mitigate the effects of such operations by
providing income protection for workers whose employment will be terminated. This
scenario where factories usually shut down when global competition becomes tough is a
major characteristic of EPZ operations across the world (see, for instance, Jauch, 2002;
Gunadasa, 2009).
Research has shown that jobs are created in EPZs with the same frequency as they
are lost (LaRRI, 2000). Scheve & Slaughter (2004) argue that labour demand elasticity
due to the effects of global competition is one mechanism through which globalisation
has increased economic insecurities. Consequently, it can be said that individuals
employed in world market factories are more likely to report greater insecurities related
to their jobs and EPZ factories are no exception. This assertion by one woman buttresses
this argument:
I have worked in three different factories in this zone in just five years. New factories open
up every time and we the women get jobs but they close down in no time and we
lose our jobs again. (29-year-old interviewee)
It is evident that the same force of globalisation influences both the opening up of new
factories in such locations and their closures. But this is not the only factor affecting
labour market churn. Not only were women losing their jobs due to global competition
but also for invalid reasons such as pregnancy and confronting management over their
working conditions, as evident in this woman’s statement:
In this factory, you should know that the moment you get pregnant, you will be asked to go
home. Our boss always sacks all the women who are pregnant and the troublesome
ones who like challenging him on payment of allowance. He says he is cutting
down production cost but usually they do new recruitment a few weeks after these
women have left. I think it is a ploy to get rid of all the pregnant women and the
troublesome ones. (37-year-old interviewee)
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Work organisation, labour & globalisation Volume 9, Number 2, Winter 2015 73
Implications of working conditions for women’s
empowerment
There is a logical assumption that, for every employment, the nature of the working
environment and the conditions of work itself are very important in determining the
empowering effects of such employment (Hancock, Middleton, Moore & Edirisinghe,
2011; Peedoly, 2011). The results reported here suggest that working conditions in
Ghana’s EPZs present major hindrances to women’s empowerment. These include the
job loss even when employment contracts have been agreed, due to the effects of global
competition, labour casualisation and women being located at the lower ranks of factory
activities, as well as invalid reasons, such as pregnancy and punishment. The case of
Regina Sackeyfio (see Box 1) illustrates this very clearly.
Regina’s job loss led to instabilities in her household finances to the extent that she
had to pawn most of her assets. Asset accumulation, according to Malhotra, Schuler &
Boender (2002), is a major indicator of economic empowerment. Thus, Regina was
disempowered in this situation. More so, there was psychological stress evident in her
being disturbed that she had fallen from a regular paid job into unemployment. It may
be noted that Regina worked in the factory that closed down during the Christmas
festivities without prior notice. It is likely that she may well experience a repeat of this
situation. Tandrayen-Ragoobur & Ayrga (2011) found clear evidence that the major
impact of the phasing out of the Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA), which led to loss of
about 250,000 jobs in many African countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Mauritius,
Namibia and Kenya, was that many women became unemployed afterwards. This
negatively affected women’s status and also had associated impacts on the welfare of
their families. Indeed, Peedoly (2011) asserts that while decent and stable employment is
empowering, on the other hand, employment that is characterised by insecurities is less
empowering if at all.
These negative impacts are, however, to some extent counterbalanced by other more
positive features. These include achievements such as payment well above the minimum
salary and at overtime rates where applicable, working hours and overtime within
mandatory rates and better health and safety issues which are important indicators of
the better labour standards in Ghana’s EPZs compared with other EPZs in Asia and the
Caribbean. These advances are necessary preconditions that have served as a
springboard for the predominantly female workforce in Ghana’s EPZ to empower
Box I: The experience of Regina Sackeyfio
Regina Sackeyo is a 27-year-old woman working in one of the garment factories. She
was working in another EPZ factory and was earning GHC180 ($51) per month then,
and that was the primary source of income for her household. She however lost her
job when that factory closed down and started petty trading in her household. The
reduction in her earnings led her to sell most of her assets in order to meet household
expenditure. She was disturbed about her fall from a regular well-paid job into unem-
ployment. ‘You have no idea what a saviour my current employment has been to me’
was how she showed appreciation for the ‘peace of mind’ her current employment has
given her.
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74 Work organisation, labour & globalisation Volume 9, Number 2, Winter 2015
themselves; the women we interviewed also reported improvements in their economic,
decision-making and psychological well-being because of EPZ employment.
Prior to their employment in the EPZs, as many as 33.2% of our sample were
unemployed, 32.1% were engaged in petty trading and 13.6% were students in junior/
senior high school. Thus, for these women, EPZ employment was possibly their first
experience of working and earning a regular income and perhaps their first chance to
experience financial autonomy. Even though women complained about the inadequacy
of their earnings, this income enabled them to take care of the many responsibilities in
their households. They had control over the use of their income, and the income was
crucial to the upkeep of their households. Household expenditure such as cooking,
utility bills, rent, children’s education and health needs as well as sending remittances
home were some of the ways women spent their income, as explained in these
quotations:
This income is not enough but I spend it on the children’s school fees and their feeding and
also send some to the village for my old mother. (41-year-old interviewee)
Basically, my income is spent on the education of my younger cousins. Then I give some to
my mother for taking care of the home. I sometimes send some to my mother’s
older sister in the village too. (24-year-old interviewee)
According to Oakley (2001) and Malhotra, Schuler & Boender (2002), access to and
control over income and contribution to household budget are major economic
empowerment indicators. Evidence from the study indicated that EPZ employment had
enabled women to achieve this as is also evident in studies by Hancock, Middleton,
Moore & Edirisinghe (2011) in Sri Lanka and Peedoly (2011) in Mauritius. However, the
inadequacy of these women’s earning has resulted in low savings among them and
because of this the majority of the women have only been subsisting with EPZ income
without any real improvements in their assets accumulation either in the form of
physical assets, financial assets or established businesses. An assertion by one woman
exemplifies this:
Every one of us intends to save and start our own business and leave this difficult job one
day, but when the income is not even enough to cater for our basic needs, how can
we save? (33-year-old focus group interviewee)
In Ghana, where asset ownership through inheritance is low among women (Oduro,
Baah-Boateng & Boakye-Yiadom, 2011), one sure way in which women can increase
their assets ownership, which is seen as a major indicator of economic empowerment
(Malhotra, Schuler & Boender, 2002), is through outright purchase. EPZ income,
however, has not enabled the majority (92.7%) of the women to achieve this. Therefore,
in EPZs, where job loss is rampant, the women may lose any ability to subsist since they
are not able to save enough to accumulate assets to ensure their continued income
earning in the event of job loss.
Our study also found that women have made achievements in household decision-
making, especially on aspects where they contribute financially. Other research has
shown that Ghanaian women’s decision-making status in the household improves as
they make more financial contribution to the household (Oppong, 2005). Examples of
domestic areas where decision-making has improved include aspects of household
cooking and how income is spent as well as children’s health and education, decisions
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Work organisation, labour & globalisation Volume 9, Number 2, Winter 2015 75
which research has shown already fall within the domain of many Ghanaian women
(Oppong, 2005; Wrigley-Asante, 2011). In relation to workplace decision-making, on
the other hand, it was evident that women have not achieved much, generally due to the
limited activities of workers’ unions. This is an arena which Oakley (2001) has identified
as holding potential for organisational empowerment through collective identity and
establishing representation.
The limitation on union activities notwithstanding, these women have been able to
organise themselves to form self-help groups, and this has particularly improved their
welfare and helped them achieve some level of collective empowerment through
cooperation. This ability of women to exercise other forms of cooperation in EPZs
despite unfavourable working conditions has also been highlighted by Lim (1985) and
Rosa (1994).
Psychologically, the feeling of working and being able to solve problems as a result of
having a regular income, as well as being able to send money home, has earned the
women a lot of respect from their family and friends as explained:
If you work and earn income some of which you use to help your family and friends when
they are in need, everyone respects you because of your ability to help them solve
financial problems. (27-year-old interviewee)
The general psychological well-being that comes from working and earning an
income (Sen, 1999) is a major way women have achieved psychological empowerment
because of their EPZ employment.
Conclusions and recommendations
This article has demonstrated that the working conditions of women in Ghana’s EPZ
firms are relatively good in terms of working hours, remuneration and occupational
health and safety. EPZ employment also provides women with regular income and
welfare groups, which are crucial resources for their empowerment. Evidently, women’s
access to income has some benefits that lead to their improved economic status
(Malhotra, Schuler & Boender, 2002), increased decision-making in the household as
well as their psychological well-being (Oppong, 2005; Wrigley-Asante, 2011). However,
as also found by Gopolakrisnan (2007) and Khan (2012), issues such as labour
casualisation, general lack of job security due to global competition as well as limited
union activities also indicate strong negative features of this form of employment,
posing major limitations to the empowerment of women. The precariousness of the
employment situation whereby women lose their jobs with little or no prior notice is a
major challenge to their economic empowerment, leading to situations where pawning
their assets in order to meet the welfare of their households becomes a last resort. Thus,
they may lose their decision-making status in the event of job loss. These limitations, the
results of their unfavourable working conditions, indicate that while women’s improved
agency through access to income and cooperation with other women have made
important contributions to increasing their empowerment, structures embedded in the
poor working conditions still militate against it (Luttrel, Quiroz, Scrutton & Bird, 2009).
It can therefore be concluded that while globalisation may offer women access to
jobs that are crucial to their empowerment, the same process of globalisation also
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76 Work organisation, labour & globalisation Volume 9, Number 2, Winter 2015
contributes to the loss of jobs and subsequent disempowerment of women. However,
although EPZ employment in Ghana may only provide jobs that are temporary and low
paying, they are still jobs that provide poor women with some form of livelihood and a
ladder to work towards better jobs (ACET, 2012). Claiming that women have achieved
total empowerment because of EPZ employment would be farfetched, this employment
is nevertheless very important in the process of women achieving improved economic
and decision-making status in the household.
It can therefore be tentatively concluded that high-skilled jobs should be attracted
into EPZs, since the generally low-skilled and low-level character of activities in EPZs is
a major reason why such employment is currently so precarious and low paying. This
should be done in tandem with measures to ensure that women possess the necessary
skills to be able to take up such opportunities. Furthermore, there should be a reduction
in repression on union activities, flexible labour standards and casualisation to ensure
some sort of security of employment for the predominantly female workforce in EPZs in
Ghana.
© Faustina Adomaa Obeng, Charlotte Wrigley-Asante and Joseph Kofi Teye, 2015
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