Filiz Zeyrek/JINHA

ADANA – Agricultural sector is one of the sectors that labor has been exploited. Women, who work as seasonal workers, said they don’t receive a recompense for their work and they ask an improvement their working conditions.

Female agricultural laborers, who work in agricultural sector that is one of the sectors that labor has been exploited, reacted to the ongoing policies by saying, “We’ll go hungry if we don’t work only one day.” Fatma Ötken is one of the women those who work in fields of Çukurova. Fatma said that she leave her children in home to work in the fields. Fatma stated that she has been working as seasonal worker for years and she has difficulty to work due to she is pregnant now.

“I didn’t see my children when they first began to walk and speak. I worked everyday and I left them without mother. If I don’t work just one day, my children will stay hungry.” said Fatma.

Fatma told us that she begins to work at 5:00 a.m. until late hours of the evening. She gets 45 lira per day, “We sometimes have difficulties to take our money from brokers. Sometimes, the owner of the field is good, that time we can take your money early. But, some of them give us very late.”

Hatice Yılmaz (35), another female seasonal worker, said that many of workers have health problems. However, they cannot do anything due to working conditions. “We are collecting potatoes in the field this month. The weather is cool now, however, it will be too hot to work several moths later. I will have hard time. We have to work if not we will stay hungry.” said Hatice.

Mother of five Güler Akbulut (55) said that she had to move from Urfa’s Suruç district to Adana years ago due to economic problems. Güler said, “I suffer from asthma. Even, I cannot breathe somedays. I have continued to work in this age. The working conditions of women must be improved.” by stating that working as agricultural laborers is hard.

(dc/mg/gd)