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Sini Saaritsa
Translated by Linus Atarah
Africa's cut flower production has increased enormously. The continuous growing strength of the new industry was already disclosed in a conference of co-operation organisation of international trade unions, IUF in Geneva in 2002. The domination of the sector meant jobs for many Africans as well as uncertain working conditions.
In 2003 the Finnish Trade Union Solidarity Centre (SASK) swung into action and requested the Wood and Allied workers Union (Puuliitto) and Service Union United (PAM) as project partners. The target country was initially Kenya and now the project has also been taken to Tanzania.
- It felt a little strange that in a country where hunger is the priority problem cut roses are being cultivated, says Sirpa Save, secretary in charge of working conditions who has been with the project.
Cultivations are also done in Zimbabwe whose current difficult political situation has so far prevented the project from being extended to their flower farms.
PAM became interested through the backdoor
Wood and Allied Workers Union was assigned with the responsibility of working with local actors, such as commercial gardeners association (Puutarhaliitto) in the project while PAM took charge of international affairs.
The participation of Wood and Allied Workers Union in a project connected with flower growers is natural but what has PAM got to do with it, an organization that represents private service providers and whose membership does not include farmers?
According to the international secretary of the union, Tarja Kantola, PAM became interested in the project as one of social responsibility in a way through a complicated route.
- Retailer members of PAM sell imported cut flowers. We are in this way part of the production chain and we should raise awareness of its stages and assume responsibilities, she said.
Kantola considers it important that people working in Finnish retail business recognise the origin of products, because the flowers do not come from Holland.
The ties between PAM and cut flowers project can also be found elsewhere. The union represents sectors which are mostly dominated by women and the production of cut flowers employs mostly women in Africa, i.e., cheap and efficient labour. In the labour market women also have a reputation for being more flexible, thorough, energetic and more trustworthy than men. At the moment cut flower farms in Tanzania are the second largest employer of women.
Difficult to get access into flower farms
The project is progressing but slowly. Sirpa Save mentions the reason for the initial difficulty as such, a special phenomenon: all of a sudden several parties are interested in the same issue.
First of all Dutch trade unions and NGOs began creating a certification mechanism for developing countries' flower farms many of who are owned by Dutch and German flower farms. The certification contained goals aimed at improving the social conditions of workers. When Kesko, the Finnish retail group began selling fair trade cut flowers it became clear the field was crowded. The SASK-co-ordinated project began to reflect anew where to direct its activities.
The reality is that even though cut flowers are attracting the interest of many development co-operation actors in different countries, working conditions in cut flower farms are still shaky with a few good exceptions. The owners of these plots do not allow people working with the project to gain access into their land, and among workers the fear of losing a job is great.
- Our essential goal is of course, to assist cut flower workers with the possibility to unionize, says Tarja Kantola.
- We need trade union awareness, the strengthening and advancing of democracy through training.
As part of the cut flower project PAM and SASK have commissioned a study which covers the origin of cut flowers sold in Finland as part of the global flower business.
- It is good that products of developing countries have access to our markets, only that their production conditions have to regulated to the accepted level, Kantola says.
