Charity Calls for Compensation for Flower Workers

Women growing and cutting flowers in Kenya and Columbia for sale in Britain's biggest supermarkets for Mothers Day are not only paid rock-bottom wages but also face serious health problems as a result of exposure to dangerous pesticides, a charity warned today.

The flower workers, who are mostly single mothers, typically work at least a 15-hour day but earn just over £24 a week - less than half a living wage - according to research from War on Want.

Seven in 10 cut flowers bought in Britain come from supermarkets - the highest proportion in Europe - and with huge volumes sold at this time of year for Valentines Day and Mothers Day, which take place out of the British flower-growing season.

The UK, along with Germany, is the top importer of cut flowers in the world, and the cut flower and indoor plant industry here is now worth £2.2bn.

War on Want is calling for workers to be given the right to seek redress and compensation in the UK. In its Growing Pains report, the charity says female workers in Colombia were affected by above-average rates of miscarriages and children born with birth defects, along with asthma, skin complaints and headaches because of breathing in toxic chemicals sprayed on the plants.

And though Colombia's cut flower industry employs less than one in 100 Colombians, flower workers account for one in three cases of carpal tunnel syndrome, which causes pain and muscle weakness in the hand and forearm.

The charity also said employees endured low pay, job insecurity and long hours at Florverde-certified farms - which exporters say ensure ethical treatment of workers and the environment, and which supply UK supermarkets.

The War on Want chief executive, Louise Richards, said: "Mothers in Colombia and Kenya are paying a dreadful price for growing the flowers many of us will buy for Mothers Day. British supermarkets make huge profits, but fail to ensure decent pay and conditions for these workers. Now the UK government must act to right these terrible wrongs."

War on Want said it did not want shoppers or supermarkets to stop buying flowers from the developing world, where the trade provides jobs and income, but for legislation to protect workers in poor countries.

Instead of backing voluntary schemes, the charity wants the trade and industry secretary, Alistair Darling, to support binding legislation which will give overseas workers the right to seek redress in the UK when they suffer because of UK companies or their suppliers. The call is being backed by the BBC's Gardeners' World presenter, Carol Klein.

At one Florverde-standard farm, when mother of four Esperanza Botina asked to see a doctor about RSI, the company refused and instead demanded that she worked extra hours.

Ms Botina declined and was fired without compensation - a common fate for flower workers who fall ill. Now, with severe arm pain, she cannot work on a flower farm and struggles to care for her family.

Ms Botina said: "I am always short of money. The supervisors were very harsh. If anyone was sick, they would send you a memorandum or a sanction."