WORK PLAN FOR PILOT PROJECT

Transcription

1 WORK PLAN FOR PILOT PROJECT Ensuring Minimum Wages in Field Prductin PO3 Purpse: Objective: Outcme: Output: T ensure minimum wage payments t seed prductin wrkers n the Syngenta supplying farms as a step twards fair cmpensatin. T sensitize the stakehlders n minimum wage plicy and adpt it in day- t- day prductin activities. All wrkers invlved in de- tasseling in crn and hybridizatin in ht pepper seed prductin are paid as per the minimum wages plicy f the lcal gvernment. Generate experience in minimum wage implementatin that can be applied t ther crps in ur seed prductin activities in India. PROJECT SUMMARY Prject Duratin 12 mnths Crp Crn Ht Pepper Prductin Prcess t be cvered De- tasseling (mst labr intensive activity) All prductin activities Prject Starting Mnth Octber 2016 August 2016 Prject Ending Mnth May 2017 May 2017 Lcatins Andhra Pradesh Maharashtra N. f villages cvered villages 5-7 villages N. f grwers cvered 100 percent (apprx. 1,000-1,500 grwers) 100 percent (apprx. 100 grwers) N. f wrkers cvered Apprx wrkers Apprx. 750 wrkers INTRODUCTION The issue f minimum wages in agriculture is cmplex in nature and challenging t address. In India, minimum wages vary significantly in different parts f the cuntry and wage rates are purely determined by demand and supply f the farm wrkers. Althugh seed prductin nly cntributes t 5 percent f the ttal agriculture land usage in India, Syngenta faces similar challenges in ur seeds prductin. Fr certain tasks wrkers are paid belw minimum wage levels 1. Lking at the cmplexity f the issue, Syngenta, despite f the technical supprt frm the Fair Labr Assciatin (FLA), will nt be able t address the issue unilaterally. This needs invlvement f varius stakehlders, like Industry pears, NGOs, CSOs and gvernment t bring abut real and sustainable 1 Please refer t the FLA reprt syngenta- prcurement- prices- reprt 1

2 change. T debate this issue and t cme up with practical slutins with the abve stakehlders, Syngenta- FLA jintly rganized a multi- stakehlder cnsultatin in Hyderabad n January 19, Based n the recmmendatins t start activities n a pilt basis, Syngenta with a grup f peer cmpanies have agreed t mve frward n tw industry pilts. As part f ensuring minimum wages in its supply chain, Syngenta has als initiated several steps internally fr example a. ensuring that minimum wages are taken int accunt in cst f prductin calculatins b. review f written cntracts with rganizers/grwers, c. timely payment f interest- free cash advances t grwers, etc. These steps are t ensure that Syngenta has respnsible prcurement practices and prepare fundatins t the pilt prject. STRATEGY T implement the pilt that will test the sustainability f minimum wage payments in the field, in the lng run and acrss ur entire business eventually, we have selected tw crps (crn in field crps and ht pepper in vegetable) based n farm level data cllected frm internal and external (cnducted by the FLA) labr standards mnitring. Why Crn? The activity f crn de- tasseling is targeted due t the fllwing reasns: This activity is mst labr intensive; Direct payments are made t the wrkers wh cnduct crn de- tasseling by the seed rganizer and therefre Syngenta can exhibit mre cntrl n cmpensatin related terms and cnditins; Envirnment is cnducive as majr industry players invlved in crn prductin have als decided t try similar pilt prjects t implement minimum wages in their crn de tasseling activities; Crn in an imprtant crp fr the Indian hybrid seeds prductin industry; Crn seed prductin is mainly carried ut in ne prvince in India - Andhra Pradesh that will aid cllective and fcused interventin. In crn, the de- tasseling activity is the respnsibility f the seed prductin rganizers and the grwers d nt engage wrkers fr this activity. The rganizers recruit the wrkers fr this task and are in direct cntrl f them. Syngenta calculates the cst f de- tasseling separately while preparing the CP (Cst f Prductin) taking in cnsideratin the legal minimum wage and this amunt is paid t the rganizers directly. The seed prductin rganizers pay the wage t wrkers directly and it is easy t ensure fair payment as per the CP and the lcal minimum wage. Seed prductin rganizer has t maintain prper recrds f wrkers attendance, hurs f wrk and wage payment. 2 minimum- wages- field- prductin- hybrid- seeds 2

3 Why ht pepper? The abve- mentined labr recruitment and wage payment methd is nt applicable t the vegetable seeds sectr (that includes ht pepper) where in mst f the labr is hired and cmpensated directly by the grwers. Therefre, a pilt in the ht pepper sectr will als help test the strategy in a different supply chain. Additinal reasns are presented belw: There is a need t balance between field crp and vegetable crps and pilt different strategies in different gegraphies and scenaris; All majr prductin activities invlving labr including nursery (seedlings raising unit under cntrlled climatic cnditins), pllinatin, harvesting and seed extractin can be cvered by the pilt (as cmpared t nly de- tasseling in crn); Ht Pepper is a majr and an imprtant crp fr Syngenta in India; Prductin area fr ht pepper is cmpact and therefre it is relatively easy t implement and mnitr; As sme f Industry peers are als planning t implement minimum wages in nursery stage and it will create cnducive envirnment in the field; A majr ht pepper seed prductin lcatin is in Maharashtra. In ht pepper wrkers are hired by the grwers and nt directly by Syngenta/seed rganizers as is the case in crn de tasseling activity. It wuld therefre cnstitute a different learning in rder t replicate it in ther prductin lcatins (mst f Syngenta India prductin is dne thrugh this mdel). As Syngenta des nt have a direct cntrl n the payments made t the wrkers, as grwers will pay them and there is a need fr stringent and frequent mnitring t ensure that minimum wages are passed t the wrkers. De- tasseling is a majr activity, invlving mst labrers. Other activity like harvesting - is paid n a piece- rate basis where the wrkers are able t earn minimum wages accrding t ur internal mnitring data. Thrugh this pilt, Syngenta will explre the payment f the minimum wages fr the activities that are under the direct cntrl f Syngenta. During the prject and subsequently, the same effrts will be extended t ther activities that are paid less than minimum wages (fr e.g. In Andra Pradesh, fr swing and transplanting, weeding, pllinatin and harvesting the prevailing market wages are less than the minimum wages). Thrugh this prject we wish t kick start the prcess, but this shuld be cnsidered as a start and nt the end. The pilt will als aid in Syngenta s understanding and the steps t undertake t have similar effrts in the rest f the supply chain in India. 3

4 IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS Step 1: Establish an internal cmmittee fr the pilt Step- 2 Review f Prcurement price calculatins Step 3: Creating Awareness and Building Capabilities Step 4: Strengthen wage due diligence prcess thrugh dcumentatin Step 5: Mnitring Step 6: End Prject assessment Cmmittee cnsisting f the field prductin leader, Syngenta Me & Mine representative, Prcurement team, Legal, Crprate Affairs, Grwer, FLA India representative, Seed Organizer and lcal gvernment representative t be established. The bjective f the cmmittee is t guide the implementatin team and peridically review the prgress f the prject and prvide guidelines fr the further steps. Review the internal prcurement price calculatins, Cst f prductin, what is paid and hw the bttm lines will be effected if minimum wages are taking int accunt. Identify bth internal and external resurces and means t strengthen trainings t the target grups. Build awareness and capacity f lcal stakehlders cmpany staff, seed rganizers 3, grwers, wrkers (especially wmen) and CSOs t ensure sustainable and lng- term impact. In the case wrker rganizatins and unins exist in the area f prject lcatins, Syngenta is willing t cllabrate with them t arrive t a sustainable slutin. Use f illustrative cmmunicatin material and appraches T deliver the message t the illiterate wrkers Cnstant cmmunicatin and alignment f activities with the lcal gvernment labr department- t share the initiatives f the cmpany and discuss a way frward Cllabrative apprach with industry t have similar plicy and practices in cmmn surcing lcatins. Define clear rles and respnsibilities f the stake hlders and cmmittee members in dcumentatin part Wage data tl and data cllectin guidance dcument that the FLA has develped (as part f the Fair Cmpensatin Wrk plan) will be used. We will custmize this tl as per the field requirement) Maintain prper dcumentatin at the farm level- by grwers and verified by Syngenta internal mnitrs and external mnitrs (FLA) Syngenta internally will mnitr 20 percent farms in crn and 100 percent farms in ht pepper. There will be tw mnitring visits during flwering. Cllectin and management f the internal and external mnitring data. Analysis f prject data Data frm internal and external mnitring will be cmpared Data will als be cmpared with the baseline data (frm previus internal and external mnitring data) Cnclude the lessn learnt n the pilt 3 Accrding t the prcurement study sme seed rganizers d nt have clear awareness abut minimum wage legal requirements. Als the study pinted ut that rganizers has a rle in timely disbursement f interest free cash advances t grwers which supprt the grwers in prductin. Keeping this in view specific activities are planned t create awareness amng rganizers abut maintaining the dcumentatin f cash advances and recvery. Learning and recmmendatins frm the study will be incrprated int the specific training and capacity building plan. 4

5 Step 7: Reprting and Publishing Fine tune the gaps experienced during the implementatin prcess Draft the reprt fr cmmunicatin with the stakehlders Organize a multilayered stakehlders cnsultatin Publish the results f pilt Seek the suggestins fr the next steps Develp a updated actin plan t expand the prject t ther crps/lcatin 5

6 LOGICAL FRAME WORK: Objective: Purpse: Outputs: Outcme: Activities Establish a cmmittee fr the pilt Creating Awareness Strengthen wage due diligence prcess thrugh dcumentatin T sensitize the stakehlders n minimum wage plicy and ensure its adptin at supplier farms T ensure that seed prductin wrkers at the Syngenta suppliers farms are cmplying with the lcal legislatin n minimum wage All wrkers invlved in de- tasseling in crn and entire activities in ht pepper are paid as per the lcal minimum wages plicy Generate experience in minimum wage implementatin that can be applied t ther crps in ur seed prductin activities all ver India Indicatrs Frmatin and annuncement f cmmittee Identificatin f experts Training- f- Trainers t the implementing team Organizatin f awareness campaigns fr wrkers Defining the rles and respnsibilities f the stakehlders t maintain the recrds Design the data cllectin tl Means f verificatins Recrds f minutes f meeting Training reprts and peridic reprts Wrker Prfile (Gender, Age, Type f wrk, Migratry status), Attendance & wage payment recrds, Recrds f meetings Mnitring Availability f enugh trained mnitrs Updated mnitring reprts End Prject assessment Reprting and Publishing Inputs Respnsibility Outcme Duratin Alignment with crss functinal team Cmmunicatin tls Frmats and prcedures supprting the initiative Mnitring tl Data cmpilatin and analysis Data Mnitring reprts Preparatin final reprt f pilt prject Share the reprts with stakehlder Prepare the actin plan and publish Final reprt and actin plan Assessment result Prject Leader and Suth Asia Field Prductin Manager (Field Crp & Veg) Prject Leader and respective Field Prductin Manager Prject Leader, Field Prductin Manager, Seed rganizer and grwer Prject Leader, Field Prductin Manager and Seed rganizer. Prject Leader and Field prductin Manager Steering Cmmittee Understanding f challenges and decisin f way frward Organizers agreed t fllw and the wrkers are aware f minimum wage plicy Availability f clear dcumentatin t establish cmpensatin paid t the wrkers Reliable data is cllected n pilt fr further analysis Assessment results n pilt will be available We will get the directin t wrk n minimum wage issue in field prductin August 2016 t May 2017 August 2016 t Jan 2017 September 2016 t May 2017 September 2016 t May 2017 April t May 2017 May