Labor Conditions in Ethiopia

2013-2014

TO WHAT EXTENT DO LABOR-INTENSIVE INDUSTRIES PROVIDE QUALITY JOBS? AN ANALYSIS OF THE ETHIOPIAN CUT-FLOWER INDUSTRY

Juan Merlo

Promoter: Prof. Dr. Marijke Dâ€&#x;Haese Co-promoter: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bokelmann

Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the joint academic degree of International Master of Science in Rural Development from Ghent University (Belgium), Agrocampus Ouest (France), Humboldt University of Berlin (Germany), Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (Slovakia) and University of Pisa (Italy) in collaboration with Wageningen University (The Netherlands)

This thesis was elaborated and defended at Humboldt University within the framework of the European Erasmus Mundus Programme “Erasmus Mundus International Master of Science in Rural Development" (Course N° 2010-0114 – R 04-018/001)

Certification

This is an unpublished M.Sc. thesis and is not prepared for further distribution. The author and the promoter give the permission to use this thesis for consultation and to copy parts of it for personal use. Every other use is subject to the copyright laws; more specifically the source must be extensively specified when using results from this thesis.

The Promoter

The Author

Prof. Marijke D‟Haese

Juan Merlo

The Co-Promoter Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bokelmann

Thesis online access release I hereby authorize the IMRD secretariat to make this thesis available on line on the IMRD website The Author Juan Merlo

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Abstract Job quality leads to workersâ€&#x; wellbeing. As economies in the Global South liberalize the labor-intensive sectors of the economy expand and provide jobs for the unemployed population. In the case of Ethiopia, the economy is booming and agribusiness is growing likewise. The cut-flower industry, in particular, employs many people in the rural areas.

However, the extent to which labor-intensive jobs generate well-being for workers is uncertain. The theoretical framework used for analyzing job quality is grounded six main disciplines that have traditionally studied this issue, which result in six dimensions. This study proposes looking at pay, employment quality and participation & quality of work, health and safety, and work-life balance, in order to have a comprehensive overview of the quality of jobs. For evaluative purposes, the findings are ranked according to Maslowâ€&#x;s Hierarchy of Needs adapated to the specificities that a collectivistic society requires. The results show that the extent to which the Ethiopian cut-flower industry floriculture provides quality jobs is limited, and so is its effect on wellbeing. Having a jobs in the cut-flower industry allow workers to meets their, most basic, social needs but not to cover their next immediate physiological needs such as food and shelter. This research supports recent findings that wage workers stand vulnerable at the low end of the labor market and suggests that policy makers should attempt to minimize the trade-off between economic and social targets so that economic growth results in greater wellbeing.

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Acknowledgments

First and foremost I sincerely thank the support of Prof. Marijke Dâ€&#x;Haese and Prof.

Wolfgang Bokelmann for supervising this work. I am also deeply thankful to Lotte Staelens and Muluken Adamseged for the knowledge shared and the insightful comments provided.

Furthermore, I would like express my appreciation to my family and Magaly, who inspired me in the process of writing the dissertation and to the team of translators, in particular Hinsene and Nany, for their friendship and professionalism during fieldwork.

This research could have not been possible without the funding from SENESCYT.

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Talbe of Contents

Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1: Case Study ......................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Ethiopian Cut-Flower Industry................................................................................................ 11 Chapter 2: Why Quality Jobs Matter................................................................................................. 14 2.1 Opposing Views & Responses ................................................................................................ 15 2.2 Peculiarity of the Concept ....................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 3: Defining Job Quality ....................................................................................................... 19 Chapter 4: Methodology.................................................................................................................... 22 4.1 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................................... 22 4.2 Data Collection........................................................................................................................ 27 Chapter 5: Results and Discussion .................................................................................................... 29 5.1 General Sample Characteristics .............................................................................................. 29 5.2 Job Quality Dimensions .......................................................................................................... 30 1. Pay ......................................................................................................................................... 30 2. Employment Quality ............................................................................................................. 32 3. Power Relations & Participation ........................................................................................... 34 4. Quality of Work .................................................................................................................... 35 5. Health and Safety .................................................................................................................. 39 6. Work-life Balance (WLB) ..................................................................................................... 41 5.3 Summary of Findings .............................................................................................................. 45 5.4 Ranking of Results .................................................................................................................. 47 Conclusion......................................................................................................................................... 50 Bibliography...................................................................................................................................... 52

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Introduction

Today the Global South hosts most labor-intensive economic activities but the study of job quality is still focused on advanced economies. In this context, it is relevant that societies from the global south pay greater attention to job quality as it has an effect on the wellbeing1 of workers (Findlay et.al, 2013). That is because, even though job creation is much needed in developing countries, it may be that labor-intensive jobs are not conducive to workersâ€&#x; well-being.

Therefore, this research proposes expanding the scope of the study of job quality to emerging economies and analyzing the effect of economic growth on social development.

More specifically, this paper looks at the impact of the quality of labor-intensive jobs on the well-being of workers. The relevance of this study is based on the premise that economic growth does not ensure social development and analyzing labor conditions contributes to a holistic evaluation of growth. (Paulino et al, 2007) In Ethiopia a decade of economic liberalization led by the government has yielded economic success for the country. As a result of such economic growth, the cut-flower industry emerged powerfully in the last decade. This industry stands out as an example of a labor-intensive industry that employs many individuals in the rural areas. A country like Ethiopia with high youth unemployment rates and steady demographic growth needs to create jobs for the people. However, agribusiness provides mainly labor-intensive jobs but their quality and extent to which they generate well-being for workers is uncertain (Muller, 2014; Tegenu, 2013). Therefore, the research question is: to what extent does the Ethiopian cut-flower industry provide quality jobs?

In order to answer this question and perform a comprehensive analysis of the quality of jobs I consider six dimensions divided into two aspects: employment and work.

Employment corresponds to the by-product of work and is not related to the job itself, the dimensions of employment are pay, employment quality (e.g. contract stability and career 1

This study follows the definition of well-being proposed by the Oxford English Dictionary: “The state of being or doing well in life; happy, healthy, or prosperous condition; moral or physical welfare (of a person or community).�

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development opportunities) and power relations. On the other hand, work refers to the task itself and its dimensions are quality of work (e.g. skills, autonomy and self-realization), health and safety and work-life balance. Each dimension is supported by different branches of the social sciences that have traditionally contributed to the study of job quality. (De Bustillo, 2011)

The structure of this study goes as follows:

The first chapter presents the case study, which includes a country profile description and narrates how liberalization policies led to economic development in Ethiopia with a focus on the rise of agribusiness. It also briefly explains that the effects of economic liberalization are context-dependent but that, with regards to labor, the effects of liberalization may result in labor market segmentation and commoditization. Finally, it characterizes the type of jobs that labor-intensive industries provide in theory in order to bring forward the empirical case of the floriculture industry and raise questions about the quality of jobs.

The second chapter lays out the economic and social justification of a call for quality jobs and speculates on the opposition that may arise. Furthermore it proposes answers to potential criticism.

The third chapter outlines the different approaches to define job quality along with the decision taken for this particular case and highlights the fact that currently there is no consensus on a single definition for the concept.

The fourth chapter presents the structure that is used throughout this work; it introduces the reader to the theory behind the dimensions of job quality and the resulting theoretical framework. The second part details the methods utilized during fieldwork.

The fifth chapter provides the results of the research. The results are discussed throughout the chapter on the basis of the theory supporting each dimension of job quality. The final

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results are evaluated at the very end by taking contextual considerations and ranking the dimensions according to workersâ€&#x; needs.

Chapter 1: Case Study

This chapter presents the case of Ethiopia with a focus on the economic boom that has occurred in the last decades and the subsequent wave of employment generation. It sheds light on the fact that most jobs that have resulted from economic growth are labor-intensive and that this may not guarantee social development. The specific case of the Ethiopian cutflower industry exemplifies the process of economic growth that is taking place in the country. This industry is taken as an example to evaluate the extent to which laborintensive industries provide quality jobs.

Ethiopia stands out as one of the poorest countries in the world, a third (30.7%) of the population in Ethiopia lives below the poverty line (Tegenu, 2013) .The population is close to 92 million and 85% is directly or indirectly linked to agriculture, the main economic drive (World Bank, 2014). There is an approximate labor force of 40 million people and the unemployment rate in 2013 was 17.5%. Due to rural-urban migration unemployment is ten times higher in urban than in rural areas and youth unemployment is the highest in subSaharan Africa. (Broussard & Tekleselassie, 2012; Ethiopian Embassy in UK, 2014; Trading Economics, 2013; ILO, 2014)

In recent years Ethiopia has reported staggering economic growth which has reduced unemployment. Ethiopia heads towards diversifying its economy and Ethiopiaâ€&#x;s Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) has contributed to increased investment and the creation of new jobs (Haile et al, 2013). Investments in various areas of the economy -from agriculture and industry to service provision- increased in past years and by 2012 resulted in a significant 8.5% of sustained GDP growth which positioned Ethiopia as the fastestgrowing non-oil economy in Africa (The Economist, 2014; CIA World Fact Book, 2014).

With regards to employment in particular, the unemployment rate in Ethiopia dropped 3% points since 2010 as noted on Figure 1.

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Source: Trading Economics, 2014.

Figure 1 Ethiopia Unemployment Rate Decrease

The GTP delineates development through modernization and liberalization. Its strategy for the development of Ethiopia and has a strong focus on high-value agricultural exports, which creates new jobs (CIA World Fact Book, 2014; Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, 2010). The country seeks to attract more investment and to continue to increase exports with an emphasis on producers and exporters involved in agribusiness which has already been very successful; currently millions of hectares of land are being leased to investors (Teklemariam et al, 2013; Ethiopian Investment Agency, 2013). Same as other developing countries, Ethiopia favors deregulation with the expectation that greater economic openness will generate income induced by trade and this, in turn, will contribute to the reduction of poverty (Bharadwaj, 2014). Ethiopia is at an early stage of development and it is likely that it will continue to achieve economic growth by utilizing low labor costs as the Asian Tigers. But does this strategy bring about social development? (Fukunishi, 2004).

Theory warns us of the effects of economic liberalization. The Singer-Prebisch hypothesis narrates inevitable segmentation of labor that occurs as liberalization demands specialization and developing countries experience deteriorating terms to the point that their position becomes inferior vis-à-vis developed countries in terms of labor (Ardeni & Wright, 1992). World-systems theory further theorizes the international division of labor and that excessive liberalization leads to the creation of a center –countries producing 9

capital-intensive goods and services- and a periphery 窶田ountries producing labor-intensive goods (Wallerstein, 2004). Also, as economies become increasingly global labor is commoditized and currently a growing working class, whose employment rights are denied, is growing worldwide (Burns, 2011) (Fleming & Sﾃｸborg, 2014). In fact, the working conditions of workers are constantly affected by a race to the bottom to drive down the costs of labor (Burawoy, 2010).

In practice, determining the outcome of economic liberalization is complex; the effect of market liberalization on poverty, inequality and labor is sensitive to the context in which it takes place (Nissanke & Thorbecke, 2010). Depending on the circumstances it may either generate opportunities or hardship for the rural poor; it all depends on the institutional framework and the economic and political circumstances occurring at the national level (Bardhan, 2006). In this case we see that unemployment has reduced but that economic liberalization has led to the expansion of peripheral activities.

The types of jobs that result from the success and growth of the agribusinesses industry in Ethiopia are mostly labor-intensive. These jobs are cost-efficient, tend to demand minimum skills, may be health and safety threatening, and are usually hierarchically organized2 (Fathallah, 2010; Rosado et al, 2011; Taylor, 2011). Workers in this type of jobs stand at the lowest end of the labor market (Cramer et al, 2014). In theory, the poor characteristics of work should be compensated by the benefits of employment -such as pay, contractual stability and the career advancement opportunities- but in reality this does not apply to lowpaid jobs. Only workers in higher segments of the labor market choose their jobs based on rewards other than wage, this does not occur with workers in agribusiness because the costefficient characteristics of the industry do not provide significant non-pecuniary benefits (De Bustillo, 2011; Daw & Hardie, 2012; Taylor, 2011).

In any case, although labor-

intensive jobs are not at the high end of the labor-market, job creation is much needed in the country, particularly for young people who struggle to enter the labor force (Di Nunzio, 2013).

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Hierarchical characteristics of jobs include subordination, alienation, discipline and a mix of incentives and sanctions applied to workers. (Standing, 2011)

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Ideally, access to jobs should contribute to workersâ€&#x; social and economic development.

Jobs enable the poor to access education, health services and they also serve as collateral for credit (Lee, 2013). Having a job has a positive impact on mental and physical wellbeing and increases individual agency which may lead to collective action (Wietzke & McLeod, 2013). Jobs increase income and in Ethiopia they account for 35-50% of the effect on poverty reduction (Brijkers, 2011). All in all, jobs are expected to be an opportunity out of material poverty and to have vast social development implications but some jobs do more than others and their potential resides on their quality.

Most jobs that have resulted from Ethiopiaâ€&#x;s economic boom are labor-intensive and their quality is uncertain. In order to analyze the quality of employment in Ethiopian laborintensive industries this research takes a closer look at one of the industries that has mirrored the boom of the economy and that hires many unemployed individuals in the rural areas.

1.1 Ethiopian Cut-Flower Industry In the 1980â€&#x;s Ethiopia began to exporting flowers to Europe but it was not only until the beginning of 2000 that the activity increased exponentially (see Figure 2). Today the country has positioned itself as the second largest flower exporters in the continent (PR Newswire, 2012). The institutional platform, its natural endowment and the low-wage unutilized labor force was sufficient incentive for foreign investment to flow into the country for large-scale agricultural purposes (Moreda, 2013).

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Source: Japanese Embassy in Ethiopia (2007) Figure 2 Ethiopian Cut-Flower Production Increase

The floriculture industry creates reportedly approximately 25.000 jobs for the people in the rural areas; the flower market is seasonal and the figure varies accordingly. Recent research on employment in Ethiopia show that people engaged high-value export agriculture are extremely poor and they overwhelmingly depend on their wage for survival (Cramer et al, 2014 : 15) Daily wage ranges between $0.78-$1.67 whereas labor costs in neighboring countries such as Zimbabwe and Kenya for the same industry already were 1.5 to 2 times higher, respectively in 2006 (Melese & Helmsing, 2010). From all functions in the farm, greenhouse workers earn the least and the sprayers the maximum daily wages (Degytnu, 2012). Most workersâ€&#x; profile is unskilled, illiterate, poor and systematically excluded from other opportunities but nevertheless satisfied with their work (Sulaiman & Wageyehu, 2008). Work is responsible for a 20% income increase and therefore workers generally regard floriculture positively (Gudeta, 2012).

According to Taylor (2011: 190) “it is

laborers who have achieved the highest relative benefit� in the boom of the cut-flower industry; however, such finding is solely based on income and does not explain much about job quality.

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The Ethiopian government has paid particular attention to the issue of job quality. In line with PASDEP3, Ethiopia‟s National Development Framework, the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) -designed on the basis of the ILO‟s concept of quality jobs4- was launched jointly with the ILO in line with international labor conventions (Majid, 2001).

However, “developing policies on paper is one thing – and there are certainly plenty of these in Ethiopia covering the full range of issues […] – but seeing policy frameworks into action is often another thing” (Teshome, 2006 : 23). And, given that the DWCP has impact at a macro-level, it is difficult to see its effect in the quality of jobs in the cut-flower industry, or other industries in detail.

The first part of this chapter presented the general characteristics of Ethiopia and how it has changed from being one of the poorest countries in the world to having one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. Ethiopia has reduced unemployment through its national development strategy which main tool for development is economic liberalization and incentives for agribusiness and industrial growth. The effects of liberalization have thus far been positive for Ethiopia in economic terms but they may be questioned on the social front. The second part presented the case of the cut-flower industry as one that mirrors the undergoing process of economic development in Ethiopia. This emerging industry hires thousands of workers who are generally positive about their work but the overall quality of jobs and the extent to which workers have a positive outlook on their jobs is unknown.

Despite the Ethiopian government paying particular attention at job quality its effect on the quality of labor-intensive jobs is uncertain. This research will perform a thorough evaluation of job quality in Ethiopian floriculture - the following section justifies its relevance in detail.

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PASDEP stands for: Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable Development to End Poverty, it preceded the GTP. 4

Decent work is one that provides “opportunities for work that is productive and delivers a fair income,

security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men” (ILO , n.d.)

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Chapter 2: Why Quality Jobs Matter

Quality jobs matter especially for rural areas in the Global South where Governments widely assume that the rural poor are small-scale subsistence farmers, neglecting millions of wage-workers whose labor is their only means to survive (Rizzo, 2011). This chapter discusses first the economic and social justifications of analyzing job quality and the opposing views that may arise along with their respective responses. Second, it presents the particularity of the „job quality‟ concept summarized in three aspects –context, limits and multidimensionality- that must be considered.

It is not a recent finding that quality jobs bring economic benefits. Huselid (1995) argued that management practices such as payment incentives and employment security lead to higher productivity. Deller et al (2001) found that there is a strong relationship between the non-pecuniary aspects of jobs, quality of life and economic performance. Warhurst et al.

(2012) confirm that minimum labor standards contribute to competitiveness. And, most recently, Findlay et al. (2013) explains that encouraging job leads to higher innovation and productivity.

The list of social justifications for increasing the focus on job quality complements the economic benefits that have just been listed. Kalleberg (2013) shows how inequality increases due to precarious jobs and their negative effects on other family members.

Warhurst et al. (2012) found that quality jobs lead to increased welfare and social cohesion.

De Bustillo (2011) provides three further justifications for studying job quality: first, that people spend on average 25% of their lives at work and therefore what happens at the work place greatly determines worker‟s quality of life; second, that understanding the quality of jobs of a certain segment of the economy allows to properly evaluate economic growth; and last, but not least, analyzing employment in the context of market liberalization contributes to a better understanding of the economy considering that export-led growth is likely to generate negative externalities.

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In sum job quality has, on one hand, positive economic implications on performance, innovation, competitiveness and productivity. It seems reasonable then not to put job quality aside mainstream economic discourse. And, on the other, it also has positive societal implications such as reduced inequality, increased welfare and social cohesion.

Additionally, job quality is a relevant issue because economically active people spend approximately a fourth of their lives at work and, lastly, because understanding job quality is necessary for comprehensively evaluating the benefits of economic growth.

2.1 Opposing Views & Responses Despite the justifications that have been laid out for purposefully increasing the attention on the quality of jobs in labor-intensive agribusiness, many voices suggest otherwise. Three main arguments that were identified from the literature are presented next along with a response for each.

The Market Will Provide

Economists defend a system of wage differentials; the economy must focus on creating jobs and let the market compensate unpleasant jobs (Acemoglu, 2001). However¸ if the case is that the compensation process does not occur by virtues of the market then the existence of bad quality jobs is symptomatic of an economic inefficiency. In response to this, mainstream economists would suggest that attempting to fix the allocation of resources through external interventions would further hinder the functioning of the market, ergo economic growth (Cai et al., 2002). Such an approach considers bad jobs as a „necessary evil‟ and that there will always be individuals willing to accept them (De Bustillo, 2011).

From a sociological point of view, however, it is evident that the market does not compensate individuals who engage in bad quality jobs in any way (Kalleberg, 2011). In fact, the socio-economic situation of workers in rural areas often allows for exploitation because “unemployment weakens the relative position of workers vis a vis employers forcing them to accept bad working and employment conditions” (De Bustillo, 2011).

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Hence, we cannot rely on such invisible compensation system; there will always be individuals who agree to engage in bad quality jobs. In response, civil society has had a major role in balancing power by means of mobilization and social movements who have advocated for decent working standards across the world as activist and consumer groups (Loureiro & McCluskey, 2000; Zadek, 2004). Governments have too exerted pressure in different ways and at different levels to ensure quality jobs by, for example, formulating social policies for minimum wages and setting standards for acceptable working conditions in spite of traditional economists warning that doing so impacts employment negatively (Card & Krueger, 1995). Pressure on agribusinesses has thus been exerted in two different ways; through society and through government. The former has pushed many companies to adopt either labor-related labels or visible CSR practices and the latter has raised the „quality barâ€&#x; through top-down enforcement mechanisms. Therefore, quality jobs are likely to exist when it is required by civil society demand or enforced by government regulations.

Job Creation is Sufficient

Advocating for quality of employment in labor-intensive agribusiness in the context of developing countries seems futile because agribusiness undeniably generates employment opportunities in the periphery (Krugman, 1997). For that reason, many support the proliferation of agribusiness as a good option for job creation in the rural areas where unemployment is high among the landless (Stanton, 2000; Tegenu, 2014; Tersoo, 2014).

However, the jobs that people in the rural areas experience are negatively affected by the market demand for higher profits, which results in maintaining production costs to the minimum (Arizpe & Aranda, 1981; Feder, 1976). Hence, an effective way to ensure quality jobs would be to combine government regulation through the enforcement mechanisms to which the state is entitled, and being sensitive to the adverse effects that this may have on the competitiveness of the private sector (Garvin, 1983). This is precisely what the Ethiopian government attempted to do by introducing the ILO´s Decent Work agenda.

After the expansion of agribusiness in the country, which was followed by the development plan based on export-led growth which created thousands of jobs on its way, the Ethiopian 16

government considered paying attention to the quality of jobs (Buckley, 2004). This is a clear example that governments in developing countries may also acknowledge the fact that job creation alone is not sufficient, quality matters too.

Quality is a Subjective & Culturally-dependent Issue

Skeptics hold that there is an implicit and inevitable cultural bias in demanding quality jobs from a wellbeing perspective. A researcher focusing on understanding what quality of employment means for people in a remote area, different than his/her own, might face the limits posed by cultural relativity (Hofstede, 1983, 1984; Ibhavvoh, 2011). What a „quality job‟ entails may even be relative across individuals of a culturally homogeneous sample as „quality‟ is shaped by the desires and aspiration of each individual and these are rooted in specific socio-economic circumstances.

The skeptical view on referring to job quality as a constant irrespective of space is certainly valid but there are still solutions. One is that in analyzing this issue compromises must be made. It is often hard for academia to decide on the meaning of social concepts but with a correct definition, clear boundaries and scholarly compromise it is possible to refer to job quality without hesitating on the cultural relativity of the term. In addition, since the study of quality of employment has been practiced for some time already, there are many social sciences that complement and build on each other‟s experience (this is explored in detail in Chapter 3). (De Bustillo, 2011) 2.2 Peculiarity of the Concept

Apart from the criticism that job quality receives due to the fact that it is difficult to grasp, job quality is a peculiar concept too. It is important to consider three main characteristics regarding context, limits and multidimensionality, in order to be able to methodologically handle this concept.

Context

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The way to identify what quality truly entails is by considering that the cultural context and the socio-economic circumstances of people greatly determines their preferences; “job quality is a contextual phenomenon” (Findlay et al., 2013). A cultural overview of Ethiopian society is presented next and the socio-economic characteristics of this case will be presented in the results section.

According to The Hofstede Centre (n.d.), there are three specific cultural traits that define Ethiopian society: collectivism, hierarchy and hard work. (1) The degree of interdependence among the members of society in Ethiopia is high, people identify first and foremost as a group and thus commitment and loyalty is extremely important and relationships at work between employers and employees judged upon family-like characteristics. (2) The fact that power is distributed unequally in Ethiopia is widely accepted and the acceptance of hierarchies is normal; it is a society where inequalities do not require much justification and people expect to receive orders – a good boss is a „benevolent autocrat‟. (3) Hard work is a dominant value of Ethiopian society, work is an end in itself and people live in order to work.

Limits Job quality obviates aspects of work that, despite being related to the well-being of workers, are not characteristics of the job that they perform. For example, unemployment affects the wellbeing of workers but does not determine the quality of jobs directly and therefore is not included in the evaluation of job quality (De Bustillo, 2011). This analysis of job quality is focused on workers‟ responses about the job itself.

Multidimensionality The next chapter introduces the reader to the multidimensionality of the concept; the fact that “the general or overall quality of a job is the sum of multiple aspects; affecting both the employment relationship and work itself, that have an impact on workers‟ wellbeing” (Skalli et al., 2008 as cited by De Bustillo, 2011 : 8).

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Chapter 3: Defining Job Quality

In the social sciences what cannot be defined, barely exists. Defining the concept of job quality has taken a broad range of disciplines on board across time. Major institutions such as the ILO and the EU advocate for quality jobs and the World Bankâ€&#x;s World Development Report from 2013 was specifically about jobs, yet there is no consensus on what a quality job is. Three main approaches that can be identified from the literature for defining job quality are presented in this chapter along with the discussion of what is most suitable for this case.

The EU and the ILO are the most prominent institutions backing up the relevance of studying job quality at the moment. The first one to include the issue of quality jobs in its agenda was the ILO in late 2000. Since then, this issue gained attention5 and moved towards somewhat systematic ways of being analyzed despite using the concept of Decent Work, which is criticized for being vaguely defined (Vosko, 2002). Another large advancement in the field came next with the EU coming forward with a discourse on quality of jobs which was incubated in the context of social welfare systems and which constitutes the largest attempt to study the quality of jobs (Burchell et al., 2013).

But despite prominent institutions backing up the study of job quality, still there is no consensus on what quality jobs entail. Burchell et al. (2014) did a thorough analysis about the study of job quality in the last decades and revealed how scattered the efforts to theoretically define quality jobs have been. For example, a multitude of terminologies that overlap each other have been used which demonstrates the complexity of the issue at stake and shows the fact that the efforts to study the concept have come from many directions.

Defining job quality is a matter of measurement. In finding the right framework for assessing the quality of jobs this study considers the three approaches identified from the literature that are presented by De Bustillo (2011). Each of them corresponds to a

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A quick search on Google Scholar reveals a ca. 10% increase of articles dealing with job quality each year.

And, though, such search tool is not exempt from shortcomings, it is an interesting trend to observe.

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measurement strategy that could determine the way in which job quality is conceived (see Figure 3).

I. Subjective

II. Bottom-up

III. Traditional

• Measure: job satisfaction.

• Strength:popular for its pragmatism and being a shortcut, it acknowledges complexity and therefore simplifies job quality to job satisfaction.

• Weakness: includes many non-work related sub-variables (e.g. dissonance, relative thinking, adaptable expectation, cultural norms, etc.); does not describe the perception of specific job attributes but an aggregate judgment of the work experience; constitutes an output and not an input of the job.

• Measure: self-selection • Strength: popular for being participatory, workers select the elements that they consider relevant to describe job quality themselves.

• Weakness: informs the definition of job quality from the workers' viewpoint however incomplete and possibily biased ( e.g. social desirability).

• Measure: no single measure, uses theoretical work on various disciplines as a route map to select the relevant dimensions of job quality.

• Strenghth: theoretically sound; complements the bottom-up approach; opens the analysis to dimensions beyond wage by systematically including dimensions derived beyond economic aproaches (e.g. power relations, kills and a utonomy, contractual stabilitiy and conditions, health and safety and work-life balance) • Weakness: assumes that all dimensions complement one another perfectly and that they capture the same thing (i.e. job quality) from different angles.

Source: Author‟s elaboration based on De Bustillo (2011) Figure 3 Approaches for Defining Job Quality

According to the information provided on Figure 4, satisfaction measures are not a good indicator analyzing the quality of jobs. Job satisfaction is a shortcut to understanding job quality and it only reveals the end product of work and working life rather indicating their quality per se. The second and third approaches complement each other. When workers are presented with a list of attributes of a job, it is unlikely that those attributes were chosen randomly but rather based on previous experiences (Findlay et al., 2013). At the same time, the attributes that workers choose are made on an individual basis and so the approach is bottom-up and participatory. Furthermore, the traditional approach takes into account all – „inputs‟ of a job based on the social sciences literature.

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Considering that this research takes a descriptive approach to evaluate job quality and that it is uncertain which dimensions workers consider most relevant, the traditional approach to define job quality is the most suitable. First, the survey for this study was based on previous knowledge about this type of study. And secondly, the traditional approach provides the structure for laying out the results and the theoretical ground required to justify each of the dimensions of job quality that will be analyzed.

Structure and theoretical ground allow for the proposal of a theoretical framework for analyzing the quality of jobs in the Ethiopian cut-flower industry which is presented in the following chapter along with the methods used for data collection.

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Chapter 4: Methodology

4.1 Theoretical Framework

The traditional approach to define job quality narrates how this issue has been ventured by different social science branches. Some have focused on employment and others on work; this division is important because it corresponds to the extrinsic and the intrinsic characteristics of a job, respectively. Figure 4 displays each social science tradition and the description of how each has focused on the study of job quality., the remaining view it from a sociological viewpoint and look at work characteristics. The first three tackle the issue from an economic perspective and look at employment

Source: Authorâ€&#x;s elaboration based on De Bustillo (2011) Figure 4 Job Quality According to Different Social Sciences

Mainstream orthodox economists studied payment mechanisms and the relationship to the quality of jobs based on the Theory of Compensating Differentials by Adam Smith. The theory claims that the market regulates the quality of jobs and when quality is low wage compensates the disamenities of a job so that all jobs are equal, relatively speaking (Duncan & Holmlund, 1983). In that way economists see no need in establishing a benchmark that defines a well-paid job, as it is assumed that the market will efficiently combine and allocate wages and job quality. However, the latter does not occur in the case of labor-intensive jobs and therefore this study considers that an efficient allocation of wage is a living wage, one that is “sufficiently high to enable the laborer to live in a manner 22

consistent with the dignity of a human being” ( Ryan, 1906 as cited by Bennett, 2014 : 47).

According to workers in the flower sector in Ethiopia a wage sufficient to cover food and housing in 2013 ranged between $43 to $55 in 2013, depending on their family size and circumstances (Women Working Worldwide, 2013).

Criticizing mainstream economists in that labor markets do not function efficiently, institutional economists approached the study of quality of employment based on Segmentation Theories which explain the existence of good and bad jobs, the fact that the labor market is dual. Institutional economists suggest that contracts reveal the labor conditions and advancement opportunities that a job offers. In this view, contracts, as opposed to market payment mechanisms, are the institution that compensates the bad quality of a job. Therefore, from an institutional perspective it is expected that if pay is low on one hand, contracts compensate workers on the other hand by ensuring job security and career opportunities. It is assumed that a full-time contract is better than a part-time or seasonal contract. (Leontaridi, 1998)

In response, a third approach to quality jobs comes from radical and behavioral economists who confronted the views of neoclassical and institutional economists by suggesting that neither the labor markets nor institutions such as contracts are sufficient for raising the bar of employment. For this branch of the economy, job quality is a political issue and what matters most for raising the bar of employment is industrial democracy and participation; workers‟ participation is the means (and end) to regulate the uneven power relations of the workplace. Important to note is that the capacity to organize depends on workers but, in the absence of laws regarding industrial democracy, the possibility to participate and voice workers‟ claims depends on employers. Therefore, in this view a quality job is one that allows for workers‟ participation in the affairs and decisions at the workplace that affect their wellbeing. (Wolff, 2012)

Sociology does not deny the importance of wages, contracts or participation but it emphasizes on the objective and subjective intrinsic qualities of work; focus is on job tasks, work itself is what matters. Objective characteristics correspond to skills and autonomy and subjective characteristics relate to aspects contributing to an individual‟s self-realization 23

such as fulfillment and social support (Gagné & Bhave, 2011). From this perspective, workers seek for jobs where skill demand and autonomy is high as well as jobs that are fulfilling and that provide social support; jobs shall contribute to workers‟ self-realization.

Hence, from a sociological perspective a quality job is one where tasks demand skills, allow for individual autonomy and ultimately, make individuals feel self-realized.

Furthermore, Occupational Science equally studied the quality of jobs at an intrinsic level suggesting that work may impact individuals physically and psychologically depending on load and performance pressure. In this view, work-related physical and psychological harm is generally undesirable. Therefore, from the perspective of occupational medicine literature, the quality of a job is defined by whether physical and psychological risks are low. (Sparks et al., 1997)

Last, but not least, the work-life balance (WLB) literature has an impact on the study of job quality. It has traditionally identified, “work-related characteristics as the primary determinants of perceived imbalance” in the lives of people (Tausig & Fenwick, 2001 : 113). The WLB literature would look at the extent to which work imbalances the personal life of individuals in terms of duration and intensity. This last approach focuses largely on the capacity to enjoy personal and family life in parallel to work – it assumes that all individuals value their personal and family life. From this view, jobs shall not imbalance individuals‟ lives greatly in order to be of good quality.

When identifying the characteristics of jobs that have an impact on worker‟s wellbeing each social science has a different approach. The traditional economic approaches portray employment as an activity that inherently produces disutility but that, by virtue of its extrinsic characteristics, compensates individuals with a combination of pay, contracts and participation and ultimately grants individuals access to an economically and socially superior end. On the other side of the spectrum, the sociological tradition has focused on the intrinsic qualities of work and regarded work not as the means to an end but as the mean itself, and that it shall provide self-actualization. The economic and social view of jobs result in six approaches that complement each other and that correspond to the six 24

dimensions laid out on Figure 5. It is assumed that all dimensions capture the same thing – job quality– but from different angles. It is important to keep in mind the two-level division of jobs into: intrinsic work characteristics related to the performance of the job tasks and extrinsic employment characteristics that correspond to the by-product of performing a job.

(De Bustillo, 2011)

25

Source: Authorâ€&#x;s elaboration based on De Bustillo (2011).

Figure 5 Job Quality Dimensions

26

4.2 Data Collection Fieldwork was carried out during the month of July 2013 by taking a sample of five Ethiopian farms with and without CSR labels. The farms were located in the Debre Zeyit area where flower farms are prominent due to the weather conditions of the region and its proximity to the capital city which allows easy access to international export routes. The selection of these farms was based on their openness to approve surveying their workers and to the contact that was previously established by the leader of the research group. The total population size ranged between 1610 during normal season and 1825 workers during peak season, as reported by the managers of each farm. Table 1 displays the population distribution among the five farms of the sample. Random sampling was performed on the total population and resulted in a final sample of 374 cases, 251 (67%) female and 123 (33%) male workers were interviewed.

Table 1 Population Distribution by Company Farm

Min.

Max.

A

220

250

B

400

450

C

300

340

D

390

455

E

300

330

Total

1610

1825

The research team collected data related to working conditions. The methods used during data collection comprised a mixed-method strategy involving both quantitative and qualitative approaches. All quantitative data was collected through a survey designed by the research team in advance. The survey included open and close ended questions and consisted of a 13 page document divided into 7 sections and organized according to different topics -which selected results are summarized and analyzed in the following chapter. Surveys were performed at the workers level on the field; this was done on and off-farm in order to increase the reliability of the participantâ€&#x;s answers in case that the 27

workplace could have induced any unintended bias. On the qualitative front various focus groups were carried out throughout the fieldwork with the intention to gain greater insight on the workers perspective regarding their working lives to complement the information collected in the interviews. Given the size of the sample and the different methods that were used for data collection, the reliability of this study is expected to be high.

The limitations of data collection concern potential issues derived from the language barrier such as validity and translation shortcomings. Whether the questions in the questionnaire measured what was intended fully depended on the each individual translator. The translation process is complicated and on-the-spot translation may have certain shortcomings posed by the complexity of language and the impossibility that all concepts used in a questionnaire have a precise equivalent in the local language. The cultural sensitivity and precision of the translation fully relied on the translators who spoke the languages needed with the fluency and cultural competence that is required for data collection and that only native speakers provide but that, nevertheless, cannot be verified by a third party. Furthermore, for some of the respondents the survey seemed lengthy and this might have affected the quality of the data received. With regards to the limitations of this research, only the quantitative data derived from the worker´s surveys is included in the analysis of the results. Evaluating and contrasting the results of this research with the analysis of the qualitative data produced during fieldwork is reserved for further studies.

28

Chapter 5: Results and Discussion The results are based on workers‟ job-related realities from their viewpoint. This chapter presents the quality of jobs in the Ethiopian cut-flower industry in a descriptive manner. In order to trace a clear path for the analysis the results follow the structure proposed on Figure 6. Later, Chapter 6 will discuss the evidence gathered on work and employment in order to arrive at conclusions on whether the cut-flower industry provides quality jobs for rural populations.

Note that the variables used for analyzing each dimensions include objective and subjective content; for example, the question “have you undergone training?” yields objective responses whereas “does your job offer good prospects for career development?” asks for workers‟ subjective perception on the relationship with the job and life prospects. The data itself, however, is subjective in nature in the sense that all information used in this study is reported by workers themselves and therefore corresponds to workers‟ perception.

5.1 General Sample Characteristics

This section presents the general characteristics of the sample used for this study in terms of age, education and socio-economic profile.

The average interviewee was 24 years old and the age of the group of people included in the study ranged from 12 up to 60 years. The largest age groups oscillated in 16 - 20 (41%) and 21 - 25 (52%). Overall, people were younger than 35 years old in 90% of the cases.

The average worker at a flower farm was characterized as young most of the times.

With regards to educational levels the panorama was expected. Most workers were low qualified individuals with limited educational achievements. In this case, the majority of workers (43%) attained primary education and fewer people (31%) general secondary studies. Few people (2%) reported having higher education diplomas or formal training

29

certificates (4%) and the rest of the cases (12%) present no schooling. Low levels of education in the rural areas are usually due to structural socio-economic deficiencies.

Based on the relevance of land for rural livelihoods found in the literature, this study assumes that economic poverty can be explained in terms of access and ownership of land.

Land serves as collateral for credit and it is the means of subsistence for people as it provides access to food and other economic activities (Shackleton et al., 2001). In this study 93% of individuals reported not having access to land themselves or through their household. Under such circumstances, labor was the only means for economic subsistence for the majority of the interviewees.

Generally speaking, the individuals on which this study focuses are young, low skilled and poor. The next section presents the results for quality jobs in all six dimensions and a preliminary analysis of the intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of jobs.

5.2 Job Quality Dimensions

Extrinsic Level: Employment

1. Pay

Wage is not a direct indicator for working conditions but wage reveals the social and market valuation of an activity and it is directly linked to well-being (Brown, Gardner, Oswald, & Qian, 2008). It is often difficult to retrieve information about wages but in this case the non-response rate was just 3.4%. Income related questions in this study were made at various points and slightly altering the wording in order to get a full picture of income.

Wages at the flower farms are dependent on the function a worker holds and most of the individuals in the sample work in the green and pack houses were wages are the lowest.

The interviewees were asked about their wage in monthly and daily terms; the responses given for each category did not vary greatly and revealed that workers earn on average US$

30

1,2 a day, or US$ 31,6 per month6. The mean wage of male workers (US$ 1,28) was 16% higher than the mean wage of female workers (US$ 1,10); wage differences between men and women are not because of gender but because spraying, a function that only men perform, pays higher wages. In order to have an idea of the distribution of wages note that 89% of the workers do not earn more than USD1.5 per day. A summary of objective pay related responses are presented on Table 2 below; the final answers for income were compiled into six categories.

Table 2 Wages by Categories

Apart from objective questions regarding the income level of workers, this study inquired interviewees further about their wage satisfaction and found that (1) wage employment in the flower farms was not enough for people to meet their basic needs in 84% of the cases; (2) 58% of all workers interviewed considered that the income they received for the amount of work was not fair and a mere fifth (21%) of the workers considered it to pay fair wages, the remaining 21% had no opinion; (3) all in all, 59% of the interviewees were dissatisfied with the salary they receive versus 19% who are satisfied, 22% were neutral. Gender differences in wage satisfaction levels show that despite women earning less than men on average they are usually more satisfied than men. Still, gender differences are not as salient to present differentiated figures according to gender for all questions; the unified satisfaction responses that have been presented portray a balanced overview of wage satisfaction among workers.

6

The rates were calculated at an exchange of US$ 1 : ETB 19.58

31

In addition to the wage, 49% of all workers reported to receive a bonus at the end of the month in case of no absenteeism. It is difficult to evaluate the effect of bonuses on workers given that bonus amount is unknown and not regularly distributed, i.e. it does not apply to all workers. Overall, wage satisfaction is low; a mere 16% of the workers in the sample were satisfied with their total wage versus 84% who were dissatisfied or simply not satisfied.

According to orthodox economists, pay shall compensate the disamenities of a job.

However, a race to the bottom driven by cost-based competition in agribusiness as well as the lack of a minimum-wage in Ethiopia pushes wages down. Also the wide availability of labor and few employment opportunities bring down the prices at which individuals are willing to work. The minimum income that a wage-worker in Ethiopia requires to have food and shelter ranges between $43 and $55, and in this case they earn $31.6 per month (Women Working Worldwide, 2013). Workers perceive their salary as unfair and insufficient. This highlights the importance of evaluating job quality beyond wage in order to see the extent to which other aspects of this job provide wellbeing to workers. This first dimension reveals that wage does not adequately compensate laborers for their work and does not meet the standard of a living wage. The cut-flower industry does not provide quality jobs in terms of wage. All of the following dimensions correspond to the nonpecuniary benefits of employment and work.

2. Employment Quality

This dimension is concerned with the way in which agents interact in the labor market.

Employment quality deals with the conditions of employment in terms of contracts, career development opportunities and workersâ€&#x; participation. Good employment is expected to offer contractual stability and career advancement opportunities, as well as an environment that does not hinder and possibly promotes workers´ participation and voice in the matters of the company linked to their wellbeing.

a. Contractual Stability 32

In the sample, the average individual did not work longer than 5 months. The number of people on permanent contracts (67%) was double as much the amount of workers who held a seasonal, temporary or daily contract (31%). When inquired about job security, slightly more than half of the workers (55%) were satisfied.

In the sample, the average individual did not work longer than 5 months. The number of people on permanent contracts (67%) while the 31% has a seasonal, temporary or daily contract. When inquired about job security, slightly more than half of the workers (55%) were satisfied. Note that the majority of workers reported holding permanent contracts and a smaller group considered to be job secure.

b. Development Opportunities

Promotion was positively regarded by nearly every individual in the sample (95%). The expectation to be promoted is motivated by the desire to have a better life – reportedly understood by most workers as being economically stable.

With regards to career development, most workers (84%) reported that the companies do not provide training but still more than half (52%) of the interviewees were positive about the possibility of being promoted. Effectively, a 10% less had been promoted (41%) but the degree of the promotion was unknown. This meant that there were more individuals who saw the opportunity to develop professionally (i.e. receive more income) compared to those who had actually been promoted.

The attributes that companies highly value are hard work and education, according to the interviewees. However, it is difficult –if not impossible– for workers to achieve higher degrees of education due to their lack of access to financial resources and is unlikely that half of people would work harder because there is no incentive for them as that effective

33

rate of promotion was lower than their expectation. Overall, promotion is high but it is unknown how significant it is, and being promoted is not easy.

Institutional economists suggest that if wages are low they should be compensated by the benefits of employment such as job security and the opportunity to advance professionally.

In this case, 55% of the workers feel job secure despite labor turnover being high. The majority of workers claimed to be on permanent contracts yet the average worker did not work longer than 5 months. This may suggest that permanent contracts are short termed and so may be the perception of job security. With regards to professional opportunities, 41% of the workers claimed to have been promoted yet this is mostly understood as wage increase and therefore it is not linked to career development. With regards to this dimension, the cutflower industry does not provide quality jobs in terms of career opportunities and the extent to which it provides job security is questionable.

3. Power Relations & Participation

When inquired about labor unions specifically almost half (48%) of the workers claimed that there were labor unions in the respective farms but still many (34%) were not aware about their existence and some people (17%) claimed that there was none. If labor unions were prominent it would have been expected that workers know about them. The fact that many individuals were not aware about labor unions was possibly due to the high labor turnover of this industry (Mano, Yamano, Suzuki, & Matsumoto, 2011). In other words, the individuals who were not aware of the existence of labor unions were likely to have just started working at the farm. Out of half of the workers who knew about their existence, 22% claimed to be active members, 20% inactive and 58% not belonging at all.

In this case, there were also women committees on the farms, according to 26% of the workers, out of which 17% said to be active members. With regards to other forms of organizations, 20% of the workers belonged to groups that did not have an impact in the quality of jobs but rather organizations that covered the economic gap that their wage failed to breach. Groups called EKUB existed in all of the farms of the sample and consist of a 34

shared pool of resources that members can benefit in case of urgent economic need. In any case, despite EKUB being an outcome of employment, it does not have implications on employment conditions.

Radical economists would judge a job on the basis of workersâ€&#x; capacity to organize, voice their opinions and participate in the decisions taken at the workplace. In this view, that is the only way to demand living wages and level-up employment. In this case, workers are highly fragmented and there is no consistent evidence of well-functioning labor unions or worker organizations; the rate of active members is simply too low. Note that Ethiopian society presents cultural traits that do not support the emergence of groups that challenge power structures from below given that hierarchies are widely accepted and inequalities do not require justification (Tegenu, 2013). However, from the data that is available it is difficult to judge whether the flower companies hinder these types of workerâ€&#x;s initiatives or whether worker organizations simply do not exist because the workforce is not consolidated. What is assumed in order to arrive at conclusions is that, if the possibility participate in work-related affairs depends partially on employers, the Ethiopian cut-flower industry does not encourage worker unions or other forms of work-related organizations.

Intrinsic Level: Work

4. Quality of Work

a. Objective Characteristics: the objective skills required for a specific task (as opposed to workersâ€&#x; skills) and to the autonomy that individuals have at work to perform tasks.

Skills As it has been discussed already the agribusiness industry relies heavily on low qualified labor. In this case, the responsibilities across the different work functions were distributed primarily between those who worked in pack houses (22%) and those in charge of crop maintenance (45%). The rest of workers at the flower farms were either graders (2%), 35

sprayers (8%) or involved in any other type of labor-intensive work (20%) and the remaining few (4%) were supervisors. Gender differences regarding work functions showed that women worked mostly in crop maintenance (59%) or packaging (25%) and spraying was reserved for men only. Overall, the ratio of wage workers to supervisors was 24:1 which means that the great majority of interviewees were involved in manual and labor-intensive work such as packaging or crop maintenance.

The intrinsic characteristics of a job reveal its degree of variation which in turn may be regarded as the degree of skills required for such activity. In other words, it is assumed that the more variation a job presents, the more skills are needed. In the case of floriculture the opinion of wage workers regarding variation at the workplace was divided. Nearly half (44%) of the interviewees regarded their jobs as dynamic and a slightly smaller group (43%) considered them dull; the rest (12%) was indifferent to variation. However, when looking for gender differences the panorama is different. Men (59%) were more positive about variation than women (35%), which was consistent to the work that each group was assigned; packing and crop maintenance mostly for women and spraying for men. Overall, work at the flower farms was low-skilled but more skill demanding for men than for women.

Autonomy Following the general theoretical characteristics of work in a labor-intensive industry one may assume that in the flower industry individuals have little room for decision and, overall, little freedom while at work. However, the perceived state of autonomy is different than expected in the Ethiopian floriculture industry. More than half (62%) of the workers in the sample expressed having freedom in deciding how to work versus 36% who felt otherwise, meaning that the majority of workers felt autonomous at work.

b. Subjective Characteristics: measured at two levels, self-fulfillment and social support, which lead to self-realization.

Self-fulfillment 36

This section is concerned with workersâ€&#x; perceptions about the ability to do what one knows best at work. Here, the variable regarding workersâ€&#x; possibilities to use their skills and abilities at work is used for analyzing self-fulfillment assuming that both variables are correlated; the possibility to use and to learn oneâ€&#x;s skills and abilities at work leads to selffulfillment (Collinson & Cook, 2013; Lawler & Hall, 1970). In this case, the majority (62%) of the interviewees regarded their job as an opportunity to exploit their potential while a fourth (37%) of the interviewees disagreed or were neutral in this regard.

In sum, the majority of the interviewees considered that work allowed them to use their skills and abilities. With regards to gender differences in self-fulfillment, women responded slightly (8%) more positively than men. and therefore it is assumed that work fulfills women more than their counterparts.

The interviewees were also asked to indicate whether they agreed, or not, that work at the flower farms allowed them to learn new skills and abilities and most (63%) wage workers responded positively, the rest of the respondents disagreed (26%) or were neutral (11%).

Most people regarded work as a place where they use and learnt other skills and abilities.

All in all, it is assumed that the majority of workers feel self-fulfilled with their work as they can use and learn new skills and abilities.

Social Support

When workers were asked about their relationship with their supervisors most of them (69%) considered it to be a friendly, helpful and supportive one; the remaining respondents (20%) were indifferent and not many (10%) responded negatively. This is probably correlated to communication and motivation; the great majority of wage workers (81%) feel that they can communicate freely with their supervisor and usually (68%) workers are praised for their good performance. Overall, most interviewees (73%) reported to receive a fair treatment from their supervisor, to which the rest disagreed (16%) or was simply indifferent (11%) to fairness considerations. Similarly, an overwhelming majority (82%) of interviewees regarded their co-workers as friendly, helpful and supportive. Also, many

37

(62%) considered that there are people at work to talk to when help is needed. Overall, most people (83%) evaluate their relationship with their co-workers positively.

If labor-intensive jobs are hierarchical in theory and correspond to the lower end of the labor market, it would be expected that the differences between vertical and horizontal social relationships vary greatly. In this case there was slightly more support between colleagues but workers also feel close to supervisors. Overall, workers at the flower farms seemed to be comfortable both with their colleagues and their supervisors.

From a sociological standpoint jobs are expected to contribute to workersâ€&#x; self-realization and workers seek for jobs with high skill demand and autonomy as well as jobs that are fulfilling and that provide social support.

In this case, the majority of individuals

performed some sort of physical work that does not require much expertise; so objectively speaking a job at a flower farm is not skill-demanding. With regards to autonomy, many considered to have freedom in deciding how to work. But, culturally, benevolent autocrats are the norm in Ethiopia. This explains the fact that despite workplaces being hierarchical individuals feel autonomous. Regarding the subjective characteristics of work, people learn new things (63%) and feel useful at work in (62%). Workers also regard their relationships with their supervisors and with their colleagues positively in 69% and 89% of the cases, respectively; usefulness leads to self-fulfillment and along with social support they result in self-realization. Note however that socio-economic circumstances determine individualsâ€&#x; responses. Considering that workers at the flower farms are mostly poor, illiterate and lowskilled individuals who possess little or no material wealth it is understandable that, despite jobs being low-skilled, workers feel useful and self-fulfilled. Overall, the Ethiopian cutflower industry provides quality of work in terms of autonomy, fulfillment and social support but it does not in terms of skills.

38

5. Health and Safety

a. Physical Risks

Employment in the flower industry means being highly exposed to chemicals and significant physical work. In this case, the majority (55%) of interviewees did not consider that the working environment was propitious versus a smaller yet significant group (46%) who regarded the working environment positively.

With regards to working standards there was a large consensus (75%) among the workers regarding the fact that supervisors followed health and safety procedures. In most of the cases (86%) workers received working clothes and almost everyone (88%) considered them to be important. Workers received mostly either gloves (51%) or overalls (37%), followed by boots (27%) and very few needed masks (8%) or respirators (5%) for work.

With regards to medical checks, only a third of the workers who were interviewed (33%) had received a medical check-up carried out by the company in the last year. This is rather low and even more considering that it appears to be a pressing need to increase the efforts to control the health status of workers; many (58%) were worried that work would cause of health problems in the future. Half of the interviewees reported health complaints related to work, Figure 6 displays the list and frequency of ilnesses.

39

60% 50%

50%

40%

30% 20%

15%

10% 10%

8%

8% 3%

2%

Eye pain

Fainting

0% None

Headaches Back/joint problems

Skin allergies

Respiratory problems

Figure 6 Work-Related Helath Issues

When comparing the results of women and men for each illness it was found that men exceeded women in having experienced respiratory problems, eye pain and back/join problems and, on the other hand, women exceeded men in cases of skin allergies. Men and women do not necessarily suffer the same issues considering the existing work division at the flower farms. Overall, the main work-related health issues for both genders were headaches (15%), followed by back/joint (10%) and respiratory problems (8%). To repectively tackle the latter mentioned ilnesses more attention should be put in providing gloves, reevaluating workload intensity and supplying masks and to pay attention to the needs of each group according to the activity that they perform.

b. Psychosocial risks

With the aim of analyzing psychosocial risks at work participants were inquired first about cases of sexual harassment. Workers were asked whether they had ever heard of someone who had such experience and the result was low (10%) but still significant; one out of every ten individuals was sexually harassed while working at the flower farms. On the bright side, however, it is likely that this phenomenon will cease to occur in the long term given that workers were nearly unanimous (95%) in stating that they would report such happenings

40

and even more would do so if they did not feel that reporting harassment threatened their job.

Beyond harassment, work-related stress may be also considered as a psychological risk derived from the pressure of work but in this case it affected few people (6%). It may certainly be that the stress figures reported by workers do not stem directly from the job tasks themselves but from the inability to combine work and life activities as it is further explored next.

From the perspective of occupational medicine literature, a job is good if physical and psychological risks are low. In this regard, a third of the workers in the flower companies reported to have fallen sick despite working clothes being provided and more than half of the workers (58%) worried about future illness which reveals the fact that preventive measures are too low and that workers are affected by physical risks overall. With regards to other types of risks, one out of every ten women experienced sexual harassment at work which is evidence that female workers in particular are exposed to psychological risk. On the bright side, however, stress among workers in the flower farms is low; only 6% of interviewees reported to have suffered from work-related stress. In this regard, Ethiopian cut-flower farms do not provide quality employment in terms of physical and psychological risks but this is not reflected on the stress levels of workers.

6. Work-life Balance (WLB)

According to WLB studies, a good job is one that allows compatibility between the work and non-work activities of an individual. This section looks at the burden that work may pose to an individual and attempts to evaluate them aside of the burden that non-working life may cause, which is off limits of this research and does not correspond to job quality.

The two components of this dimension (WLB) measure the duration and intensity of work which, as its title suggests, should not be excessive.

41

a. Working Time

Duration

A normal day for an average worker at the flower farms was 8 hours a day with one hour of unpaid lunch break. The majority of interviewees (88%) reported to work 48 hours a week, a small number of people worked either more (4%) or less (3%) than that threshold. More than half (61%) is satisfied with the working hours, nearly a fifth (19%) is not satisfied and the rest (20%) is neutral. It is difficult to judge whether workersâ€&#x; dissatisfaction regarding work duration is due to the fact that they work too little or too many hours.

Scheduling

With regards to the regularity with which work takes place, individuals at the flower farms worked 6 days a week and combining work and household tasks was difficult or not easy for more than half (64%) of the interviewees. When looking at differences according to gender, fewer women (31%) found it easy to combine work and life in comparison to men (46%). Most workers (76%) spent between 1 and 3 hours per day in home-related activities with a difference of one hour extra for women, on average. Overall, more than half (69%) of workers reported to be dissatisfied or not satisfied versus a third (33%) who was satisfied with the ability to balance work and non-work life, which matches the amount of people who do not have much burden of extra activities at home. Surprisingly, women tend to be less extremely dissatisfied and slightly more satisfied than men in their ability to balance work and life despite their tighter schedules.

Flexibility

Regarding the boundaries of work or the flexibility that workers have in terms of time when performing their job, workers responses lead to assume that their work is defined by a set of rigid rules. In this case, rigidity is revealed by the fact that in the great majority of cases

42

(89%) absence resulted in wage reduction and only sometimes (5%) workers received warnings.

b. Intensity

This second component of WLB corresponds to the intensity of work in terms overtime work. It is common for work at the flower farms to demand extra hours. In this case, more than half (57%) of the interviewees worked overtime every once in a while and overtime work was announced beforehand according to most of them (68%). Out of those who worker overtime, most of them (80%) reported to like working overtime and only a tenth (10%) disliked it. Similarly, many people (68%) agreed that overtime hours were voluntary, versus (32%) who expressed that they were imposed. Therefore, overtime work is voluntary and seen as an opportunity to earn extra wage by the majority of workers.

Last but not least, workers at the flower farms were entitled to have 16 days of paid leave a year on average. The procedure to acceding to such benefit could not be documented, nor was the ability to demand or receive paid leave.

In judging the quality standard of a job, the work-life balance literature would look at the extent to which work imbalances the personal life of individuals in terms of duration and intensity. In this case, workers work an average of 48 hours which is a normal amount of working hours but it is important to consider that work takes place 6 times a week, which does not seem to affect the positive outlook that workers have on work given that 61% reported to be satisfied with, both, the duration and scheduling of work to the extent that the majority (81%) of workers likes to work overtime. This may seem contradict the finding suggesting that for 69% of interviewees it is difficult to combine work and life activities and that there is little flexibility with absences but it is, in fact in line with the workers‟ socio-economic realities. Most workers „like‟ to work overtime and are not dissatisfied with work-life imbalances because they develop coping mechanisms on the basis of their needs.

In other words, workers‟ preferences are driven by need to earn extra money given the pauper amount they receive from their employment. In this regard, the quality of jobs at the 43

Ethiopian cut-flower industry in terms of WLB is accepted by workers, yet quality in terms of intensity is questionable due the fact that individuals work out of necessity.

Figure 7 displays a summary of the results for all six dimensions. Overall, the evaluation of jobs is not overwhelmingly positive. The summary corresponds to the analysis that was carried throughout this chapter for each individual dimension of job quality. The extent to which the Ethiopian cut-flower industry provides quality jobs is limited.

44

5.3 Summary of Findings

Figure 7 Summary of Findings and Extent of Job Quality

45

Generally speaking, employment in the flower farms does not compensate workers with a living wage and workers spend on average 5 months working at the farms. Employment does not include the possibility for workers to advance professionally or to participate and voice their needs. Furthermore, work demands minimum skills from individuals and it poses physical threats and sexual harassment in the case of women.

On the positive side, workers feel autonomous, fulfilled with the work tasks and socially supported by their colleagues and supervisors. In addition, workers report low stress levels and being satisfied with their WLB.

Note that seemingly there are contradicting findings between subjective and objective variables. Self-fulfillment and autonomy, low stress and WLB satisfaction apparently do not match the findings that work is low-skilled, intense, and that workers find it difficult to combine work and life. In order to interpret the responses is it necessary to shed light on the socio-economic characteristics of the workers.

Considering that individuals in the flower farms usually live in extreme poverty and have low educational levels, it is reasonable that a low-skilled job be self-fulfilling and perceived as autonomous. Likewise, it is understandable that work intensity does not translate into stress assuming that amidst hardship there are other factors that generate stress. And, lastly, the fact that workersâ€&#x; difficulty in combining work and life does not affect their WLB satisfaction negatively is evidence that people develop coping mechanisms on the basis of need.

Taking the latter into account and considering the positive results for all dimensions, the extent to which the cut-flower industry provides quality jobs is limited to the social support among colleagues and supervisors that results from employment.

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5.4 Ranking of Results

Thus far, the approach used for analyzing job quality suggested that a job be analyzed in all six dimensions that have traditionally studied this concept. Up to this point, all dimensions have been given equal weight with the aim to present a thorough and comprehensive view of labor-intensive jobs in the Ethiopian cut-flower industry. In this last section, it is suggested that all dimensions matter but it is also important to complement this approach with one that allows ranking the results and fully taking workersâ€&#x; realities into consideration. This will prove relevant for a fair, in depth and case-specific evaluation of the quality of jobs.

In order to answer the research question more specifically, this study considers that ultimately the quality of a job is defined by the extent to which it covers the needs of workers. Maslow Hierarchy of Needs is often used in the social sciences to identify what is important for individuals assuming that people have similar preferences. The theory explains that people have low and high needs – see Figure 8. Ethiopia is a case of a collectivistic society and low needs correspond to belonging7 and physiological needs, these are individualsâ€&#x; basic conditions to survive. High needs correspond to the needs that people experience as primary needs are covered and that shift from being related to belonging and subsistence to being related to safety, self-esteem and self-actualization. The basic premise of this theory is that as the basic needs of an individual are satisfied secondary needs become increasingly relevant. (Pardee, 1990)

7

The hierarchy has been modified following the suggestion made by Gambrel & Cianci (2003) for cases of collectivistic societies.

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Source: Authorâ€&#x;s elaboration based on Gambrel & Cianci (2003).

Figure 8 Hierarchy of Needs in a Collectivistic Society

Within this analytical framework, the result indicating that the cut flower industry provides jobs where workers find social support among colleagues and supervisors means that jobs effectively cover the first set of needs in the hierarchy: belonging. Being a collectivistic society, people in Ethiopia are attached to their social group and function in a cooperative instead of a competitive spirit (Wollie, 2009). Belonging to a social group is the basis of society and fundamental for survival.

Second in the hierarchy is physiological security, which refers to aspects that are vital for biologically surviving such as food, water and shelter. Physiological needs may be covered in by an individualâ€&#x;s social group to a certain degree but full coverage in the case of an adult individual depends on access to basic income. In this case, the results revealed that employment in the Ethiopian cut-flower industry compensates individuals with unfair and insufficient wage and, therefore, the second set of needs in the hierarchy urges special attention.

Following Maslowâ€&#x;s theory train of thought, higher needs do not fully come into play if lower needs are not satisfied. Hence, considering that the workers do not earn enough 48

money to cover their physiological needs, self-esteem and self-actualization are not a priority. So, even though it is not all about money and the approach of looking at six quality job dimensions suggests that all aspects of jobs matter, in this particular case income is of utmost importance for workers to ensure their wellbeing.

Finally, in explaining the contradictions between subjective and objective variables discussed in the previous section this theory suggests that a non-satisfied need is a motivator of behavior. So, if physiological needs of workers are not covered, workers‟ responses were motivated by the lack of wage. If wage is the basic need and it is not satisfied, then everything that workers do goes to a great extent around wage. (Pardee, 1990) After taking contextual considerations into account and suggesting that the needs of workers exist in a hierarchy, the results of this study reveal that the extent to which the Ethiopian cut-flower industry provides quality jobs is limited to covering workers‟ most basic social needs and that a call for quality jobs should emphasize first and foremost on the need to raise workers‟ income.

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Conclusion

The Ethiopian economy presents accelerated growth and job creation is on the rise but for a holistic evaluation of growth it was considered important to analyze the quality of jobs that are being created. Usually this venture is reserved for advanced economies but this research has expanded the scope of study to an emerging economy. The relevance of this research lies on the fact that labor-intensive jobs are widely present in the global south and jobs are strongly related to wellbeing.

Job Quality is a multidimensional concept and there is no consensus on what quality entails. Defining the dimensions required choosing a specific approach. From the options available a traditional approach that relies on the previous knowledge of academic traditions that study job quality was chosen in order to define six dimensions: pay, employment quality and participation & quality of work, health and safety, and work-life balance. The dimensions were grouped into two levels, extrinsic and intrinsic, corresponding to the two aspects of jobs: employment and work, respectively. The first one corresponds to the by-product of work and the second relates to the work tasks. Equal weight was given to all dimensions initially, assuming that they all measure the same concept but from different angles.

Due to the descriptive character of this work and to the fact that all dimensions were equally analyzed it was difficult to answer the extent to which the cut-flower industry provides quality jobs at first. However, introducing the idea that workersâ€&#x; needs exist in a hierarchy aided the final evaluation of the results, which were not overwhelmingly positive.

This research found that working at a flower farm allows individuals to belong to a social group that can provide support and therefore covers the most basic needs of individuals which correspond to a sense of belonging. With regards to higher needs, unfortunately, employment does not adequately compensate individuals and workers struggle to cover their basic needs – wages were insufficient and unfair according to most of the workers.

The extent to which the cut-flower industry provides quality jobs is limited. The findings challenge the fact that economic growth leads to social development and reaffirm that this particular group of workers stands at the low end of the labor market. The first issue that 50

must be addressed for enhancing the quality of jobs is to increase wages for workers in the Ethiopian flower industry. That is priority because wages contribute to covering workersâ€&#x; physiological needs such as food and shelter. However, raising wages is no easy task. The Ethiopian cut-flower industry owes part of its success to the low costs of inputs; cheap labor ensures the competitiveness of this industry in a global market. And even though it was claimed that quality jobs have a positive effect on competitiveness, there is no way around to the negative impact of higher production costs for companies (Warhurst et al, 2012). This is the classic dilemma of a trade-off between economic growth and social development.

The policy implications of this research are clear. Policy makers should pay attention at the existing trade-off between economic and social targets and attempt at developing policies that reduce the trade-off to the minimum so that economic growth does not come at the expense of lower social welfare such as the commoditization of labor and the segmentation of the labor market; nor that it occurs vice-versa, that for the sake of higher social welfare growth is stagnant and unemployment remains rampant.

To complement the findings of the study and the efforts incurred, it would be interesting if further research in other labor-intensive areas of the Ethiopian economy was carried out.

Comparison is a fruitful exercise and it would allow contrasting the findings of this study.

Longitudinal research would also be an interesting venture in order to evaluate whether the quality of jobs is higher as Ethiopia industrializes and the country remains in the periphery or moves closer towards the center. And hopefully in the long-run there will be an East African Job Quality Index that is sensitive to the socio-cultural realities and economic circumstances of countries in the region and that would be capable of informing the extent to which East African Economies provide quality jobs so that policy makers in the region can learn from each other experiences and design regional development strategies that include economic goals with strong social foundations.

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