Building flower power in Colombia

In 2005 and 2006, Prospect linked up with War on Want to support Cactus, a self-help group for flower workers in Colombia.

Cactus encourages women flower workers in the Bogotá area to speak for themselves by offering legal advice and support programmes. The programme helps the women to ensure their workers’ rights are respected, promotes their participation in local decision-making processes and enhances their skills. Cactus works in close partnership with the flower workers' union Untraflores, which organises in the flowers fields of Bogotá.

70 per cent of flower workers are women. Most are hired on short-term contracts of three to six months, which will not be renewed for workers who become pregnant or ill, often with job-related illnesses.

Health risks are high because of the heavy use of pesticides throughout the growing cycle. Workers are also exposed to harsh and sudden weather and temperature changes.

A lack of adequate health and safety protection measures are the norm as well as lack of protection for pregnant women, which increases the risks for both mother and child. Long hours and workers’ lifestyles adversely affect the family. The flowers are grown in sterilised soil in greenhouses that are fumigated every day with fungicides and insecticides. Workers report headaches, itchy eyes, stomach problems and a high rate of miscarriages. Repetitive work causes back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and varicose veins

One of the companies is Splendor Flowers, a subsidiary of the multinational Dole, where in 2004 workers formed a trade union, Sintrasplendor.

Independent trade union

At Splendor Flowers, like many other companies, managements have set up ‘solidarismo’ associations, designed to weaken and replace independent trade unions.

But on November 16 2004, Sintrasplendor became the first legally-established independent union at a Dole flower plantation in Colombia. The union now has over 700 members. It grew from a single secret meeting in October 2004. The members had to get the union’s status approved through the legal process, which involved electing officers, and completing paperwork. If management had found out about it in the meantime, the participants would have been sacked immediately.

About DOLE

• Founded in Hawaii in 1851, Dole Food Company, Inc is the world’s largest producer and marketer of fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh-cut flowers
• its 2004 revenues were $5.3bn
• it does business in more than 90 countries
• it employs 36,000 full-time, regular employees and 23,000 full-time seasonal or temporary employees, worldwide.

Prospect support for flower unions

Prospect backed a four-month project with Cactus. Our support enabled Cactus to:

• hold workshops for women flower workers on health and safety hazards, and four public meetings
• carry out research showing how workers are exploited
• help with transport and publicity for a protest outside Dole HQ in Bogota.