Flower workers at the Guacarí plantation in Colombia, formerly owned by Dole, went back on strike on November 16 to protest the company’s failure to pay wages and legally-required benefits. Workers at the plantation are demanding that the government enforce labor law and ensure that the company, Floramerica, ends wage theft.
On September 7, 2010, workers on the Guacarí plantation, located in Zipaquira, Colombia, near Bogotá,organized a union in response to the company’s failure to pay wages and make health care and social security payments for more than three months. Soon after the formation of the new union, Sintraguacarí-Untraflores, seven prominent union members were illegally fired.
On September 18, the Sintraguacarí union went on strike, facing violence as the police used tear gas and physical force to intimidate strikers. Several workers were injured.
When Sintraguacarí met with representatives of Floramerica and the Ministry of Social Protection, Colombia’s labor ministry, on September 22, the company refused to give a timetable for paying workers and would not acknowledge the union’s demands. Floramerica maintains that it is unable to pay workers as a result of the appreciation of the Colombian peso, and that it is incumbent upon the Colombian government to take action to address the issue. During the meeting, the union told the Ministry of Social Protection that it would bring its demands to the International Labor Organization (ILO) Committee on the Application of Standards.
Two months later, the situation remains unresolved. Workers have not been paid in more than a month and have not received legally-mandated benefits such as family assistance subsidies, bonuses, and aid for purchasing uniforms. The company has also failed to make legally-required payments to cover health insurance and social security for the past several months.
According to the Sunburst Farms website, the Nannetti Family purchased Floramerica-Sunburst Farms from Dole Fresh Flowers on January 16, 2009, creating one of the largest flower growing and distributing operations in the world. Although Sunburst has claimed in e-mails to USLEAP that it is only the flower distributor for Floramerica and does not own plantations, implying that it is therefore relieved of responsibility to Colombian workers, its website defines Floramerica as the “growing operation of Sunburst Farms”. Regardless, it is the responsibility of growers, distributors, and retailers to ensure that employers treat all workers in the supply chain with dignity and respect and abide by national labor laws.
Ironically, the Guacarí plantation is Rainforest Alliance certified, highlighted on the Sunburst website as evidence of the company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility. Rainforest Alliance has agreed to look into the situation, though it remains to be seen how Rainforest will respond to the blatant violation of labor rights standards at this plantation.
To learn more about flower worker rights and economic justice, visit the USLEAP website.
Take action now! Urge Sunburst Farms to respect the basic rights of workers and negotiate with Sintraguacari. Urge the Minister of Social Protection to demand negotiations between Floramerica-Sunburst and Sintraguacarí.
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