[NV Greens] Fwd: Support Ecuadorian Flower Workers

Thu Feb 17 23:10:00 PST 2005

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>Subject: Support Ecuadorian Flower Workers
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>Support Ecuadorian Flower Workers
>
>Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA)
>
>February 17, 2005
>
>Shortly before one of the biggest flower-giving holidays of
>the year, flower workers in Ecuador have petitioned their
>government to form a sector wide union. The Ecuadorian
>Ministry of Labor has twice before denied this request, so
>the workers have turned to consumers in the U.S., where half
>of Ecuador's flowers are sold, to urge Ecuadorian officials
>to certify their union. The flower workers have named their
>new organization for Valentine's Day, FederaciÛn de
>Trabajadores Floricultores 14 de Febrero, a testament to the
>significance of consumer purchases on this day. The perfect
>blooms that workers in Ecuador and other Central American
>countries grow, cut, and pack for export currently depend on
>intensive use of pesticides. The International Labor Rights
>Fund reports that two thirds of Colombian and Ecuadorian
>floriculture workers experience health problems as a result
>of their work.
>
>Act now: Write to the Ecuadorian Minister of Labor and urge
>him to allow the new union to represent flower workers in
>Ecuador. Go to:
>
>http://ga4.org/campaign/flower_workers
>
>Pesticide Action Network Updates Service (PANUPS)
>
>See PANUPS updates service, for complete information.
>
>A Valentine for Flower Workers
>
>February 11, 2005
>
>Shortly before one of the biggest flower-giving holidays of
>the year, flower workers in Ecuador have petitioned their
>government for permission to establish an industry wide
>union. Their request has been denied twice before by the
>Ecuadorian Ministry of Labor, so the workers are also turning
>to consumers in the U.S., where half of Ecuador's flowers are
>sold, asking PANUPS readers to urge Ecuadorian officials to
>certify the union. A link at the end of this article opens a
>sample email to the Ministry of Labor in Quito. The flower
>workers have chosen to name their new union for Valentine's
>Day, FederaciÛn de Trabajadores Floricultores 14 de Febrero,
>a testament to the significance of consumer purchases on this
>day.
>
>The perfect blooms that workers in Ecuador and other Central
>American countries grow, cut, and pack for export rely on
>intensive use of highly hazardous pesticides. The
>International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) reports that two
>thirds of Colombian and Ecuadorian floriculture workers
>experience health problems as a result of their work. Child
>labor is increasingly common in the sector. According to the
>International Labor Organization, fully 20% of workers in
>Ecuadorian floriculture are children and more than 70% of
>floriculture workers in Colombia and Ecuador are women. The
>ILRF reports that illegal pregnancy tests are often required
>at the time of hiring, and pregnant workers are fired. Some
>plantations force workers to work overtime without overtime
>pay before flower-giving holidays, and have fired workers for
>union organizing activities. Plantations increasingly hire
>workers through sub-contractors, who provide less training,
>transportation, and benefits than workers hired directly.
>Subcontractors are also able shift workers from one
>plantation to another to avoid union organizing efforts.
>
>An industry wide flower worker union would provide workers
>with the collective strength to counter these abuses.
>Currently, workers at only four of Ecuador's 300 flower
>companies have managed to organize unions. Those four
>existing unions have joined the petition for an industry wide
>federation, understanding that it will make them all
>stronger.
>
>Floriculture workers in Colombia have a sector wide union,
>Untraflores, which brought international attention to the
>pesticide poisoning of 200 workers at a large floriculture
>facility near Bogot· in 2003 (see PANUPS, Workers Poisoned in
>Colombia, December 11, 2003). Late last year Untraflores
>gained certification for the first local union of flower
>workers at a Dole plantation in Colombia. Since it was
>certified, the new union has gained members and none have
>been fired, despite management threats.
>
>If certified, FederaciÛn de Trabajadores Floricultores 14 de
>Febrero would represent flower workers at any plantation in
>the country, and enable single workers to join. In the
>absence of a sector wide organization, at least 25 workers at
>a facility need to petition to form a union. While organizing
>themselves into a union, workers are the most vulnerable to
>firing or other repercussions for union activity.
>
>In 2002 and again in 2003 floriculture workers petitioned the
>Ecuadorian Minister of Labor for permission to form a union,
>as allowed under the Ecuadorian Labor Code. The Minister
>denied both requests on technical grounds. The ILRF reports
>that the Labor Ministry asked Expoflores, the association of
>Ecuadorian flower producers and exporters, to weigh in on the
>workers' request. 'The exporters' association,' argues ILRF
>'should not have the right to deny the workers the freedom to
>form this type of union.'
>
>On February 9, 2005, workers applied for a third time, and
>have asked consumers around the world to send a Valentine to
>the Ecuadorian Minister of Labor, urging him to allow the
>FederaciÛn de Trabajadores Floricultores 14 de Febrero to
>represent all of the nation's floriculture workers.
>
>Visit our new Action Center to email your letter/Valentine to
>Quito
>
>For more information on labor conditions at Ecuadorian flower
>plantations, see the ILRF appeal,
>http://www.laborrights.org/actions/index.php.
>
>Sources: International Labor Rights Fund, Fairness in Flowers
>Campaign, http://www.laborrights.org;
>
>PANUPS, Action Alert,Workers Poisoned in Colombia, December
>11, 2003, Floriculture: Pesticides, Worker Health & Codes of
>Conduct, June 12, 2002, Behind the Flowers, the Workers'
>Rights, Cactus, Bogot·, Colombia, http://www.cactus.org.co.
>Contact: ILRF http://www.laborrights.org, email,
>laborrights at igc.org, (202) 347-4100, PANNA.
>
>
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-- 
Paul Etxeberri

"Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow"   ---Chateaubriand