POISONED FLOWERS
00:01
Flowers from Colombia destined for the whole world
00:06
And especially Europe. Only the Americans inport more. The insatiable hunger for Colombian flowers has fostered an unparallelled industry.
00:20
Practically the entire region around capital Bogota has been transformed into a huge flower farm.
00:34
Picketlines have sprung up in front of this farm; Colombia has few employee rights, and even where they do exist, firms rarely take them into account. The protests are led by works boss Olga Barretto, who is collecting for the strike fund. She and her 400 colleagues have effectively been locked out because they refused to accept a 50% pay cut. She is expected to survive on $75 a month in a country with a similar cost of living as Europe. Even so, many new workers were prepared to take the cut, and the protest continues. rephrase
01:06
OT Olga Lucia Barreto, Gewerkschafterin "Astraflor"
This strike is all about preserving our dignity. I want to show you cant just trample on it. Were here not just for us, but also for our colleagues who are still working on the farm
01:20
These pictures show just how difficult it is for an outsider to get any kind of accurate picture of the industry. Almost every farm is hermetically sealed off from the wider world. It took a lot of persuasion to get us the other side of these shards of glass.
Even at first glance the environmental consequences of mass production are clearly visible. Water is a rarity anywhere near the farm. Even the tiniest drop is guzzled greedily up. For many of the employees, there is often none at all left over to drink.
01:56
But far worse is the use of pesticides. More means more is less a dictum here than an obsession. More than 100 kilos of pesticides per hectare are used every year, a record probably unparalleled anywhere else in the world.
02:14
But the pesticides arent only effective against bugs: it also does a pretty mean job on the farm-workers. To save money, many workers,and mostly women, are provided with no protective clothing. Even cheap gloves are in short supply. But without such protection, chemicals and insecticides can seep into the skin.
02.39
With terrible consequences. Skin and pulmonary disease, chronic weight loss and serious internal damage are commonplace. Many end up in the hospital.
02:48
Like Carlos Umbrey. He now has to sit on this dialysis machine three times a week. For 16 years he worked on one of the many flower farms surrounding Bogota, usually without any kind of protective clothing. .
Today his kidneys are destroyed. Carlo should be able to rely on an invalidity pension, but his employers failed to make the necessary insurance payments.
03:20 OT Carlos Umbrey, ehem. Blumenarbeiter
Ive done everything I can to get my pension. But everywhere I turn I hear the same answer Carlos, if were honest weve got to say youll never get your pension, because your factory never paid its fees
03:39
The region around Bogota is covered in Flowerfarms. With real unemployment topping 40%, locals will take any job that comes their way. Job security, unemployment benefit, social services, pensions. All alien words to the flower farms legions of workers. Improvements to employee conditions wouldnt only be easy, but also cheap. This simple harness, for example, would be enough to prevent the frequent back complaints workers here suffer.
In an attempt to guaerantee such improvements, Human Rights organisations have developed the flower Label. Only factories that meet human and ecological standards can display it on their flowers.
04:28 OT Frank Brassel, Flower Label
In a good factory there are certain basics: Here the employees are wearing waterproof shoes, like leather, because its wet. Theyve got uniforms, theyve got gloves important of course to stop hand injuries, but also to keep off toxic pesticides. Theyve also got a hat to keep off the sun.
05:02
At this farm in Tenjo, near Bogota, the workers are given pollution masks. Dry, dusty conditions mean asthma is one of the most frequent illnesses at the farms. Treating workers well means the farm has a chance of attaining the coveted Flower label.
Administrator Maria Carolina Estrada applied, because she figures it will mean higher sales in Europe. Recent surveys have shown ethical trading is a top consideration in purchase decisions.
05:31 OT Maria Carolina Estrada, Verwalterin
I think Europeans think more about the the environment and employee rights than they do in the USA. In the US they dont care. They just look for quality and above all for a cheap price. (English)
05:52
The flower label is in growing demand. Since the terror attacks on the US a year ago, the US market has almost halved, and surplus flowers are left to rot. All eyes have turned to Europe. The flower label should help the hard sell to ethical consumers.
06:10
But each visit for inspector Frank Brassel reinforces his view that, whilst breeders like Pedro Mejia want the label, they arent really interested in improving conditions. Aide Silva was bullied for her involvement with the trades unions and for campaigning for her workmates. She was made to peel potatoes in the kitchen. The cost for her lunch was three times that of non union members. She was lucky it wasnt eliminated completely.
06:43 OT Aidé Silva, Gewerkschafterin "Untraflores"
Were under incredible pressure. They are watching and controlling us every second of the day, and try to play employees off against each other.
07:00
In such a climate its a harsh harvest for those seeking the flower label. Nevertheless, its a big step forward to expose farmowners like Pedro Mejia to independent assessment and criticism. But the control raises Mejias heckles. He argues against the reforms with the old cost argument. Still.
07:20 OT Pedro Mejia, Blumenzüchter «La Celestina»
If the importers would meet the extra costs, I could agree to it! Otherwise no way!
07:27
On this farm observers complain that part time workers arent even given any equipment. Franc Brassel is unimpressed by the cost plea. Ethically and environmentally sound flowers are only going to make, not cost money.
07:46 OT Frank Brassel, Flower Label
In our experience, it is proven employees who are well treated are therefore well motivated. At the same time such heavy use of pesticides is in fact very expensive. These are two of our main points. Thirdly, it pays for itself anyway, because the Market wants ethical goods, and the more consumers that want the label, then the safer and better the market is.
08:16
This certain breed of globalisation, contrary to most, is actually helping foster a higher quality of life for many workers. And slowly the owners are starting to understand that their flowers do not only have to look good. More than ever its the packaging that counts. It was Rossetti who said Flowers preach to us if we will hear the sermon should hopefully change a few lives for the better.
Reporter: Simone Jürgens
Camera: Gregor Johnson
Cut: Frank Farenski
00:01
Flowers from Colombia destined for the whole world
00:06
And especially Europe. Only the Americans inport more. The insatiable hunger for Colombian flowers has fostered an unparallelled industry.
00:20
Practically the entire region around capital Bogota has been transformed into a huge flower farm.
00:34
Picketlines have sprung up in front of this farm; Colombia has few employee rights, and even where they do exist, firms rarely take them into account. The protests are led by works boss Olga Barretto, who is collecting for the strike fund. She and her 400 colleagues have effectively been locked out because they refused to accept a 50% pay cut. She is expected to survive on $75 a month in a country with a similar cost of living as Europe. Even so, many new workers were prepared to take the cut, and the protest continues. rephrase
01:06
OT Olga Lucia Barreto, Gewerkschafterin "Astraflor"
This strike is all about preserving our dignity. I want to show you cant just trample on it. Were here not just for us, but also for our colleagues who are still working on the farm
01:20
These pictures show just how difficult it is for an outsider to get any kind of accurate picture of the industry. Almost every farm is hermetically sealed off from the wider world. It took a lot of persuasion to get us the other side of these shards of glass.
Even at first glance the environmental consequences of mass production are clearly visible. Water is a rarity anywhere near the farm. Even the tiniest drop is guzzled greedily up. For many of the employees, there is often none at all left over to drink.
01:56
But far worse is the use of pesticides. More means more is less a dictum here than an obsession. More than 100 kilos of pesticides per hectare are used every year, a record probably unparalleled anywhere else in the world.
02:14
But the pesticides arent only effective against bugs: it also does a pretty mean job on the farm-workers. To save money, many workers,and mostly women, are provided with no protective clothing. Even cheap gloves are in short supply. But without such protection, chemicals and insecticides can seep into the skin.
02.39
With terrible consequences. Skin and pulmonary disease, chronic weight loss and serious internal damage are commonplace. Many end up in the hospital.
02:48
Like Carlos Umbrey. He now has to sit on this dialysis machine three times a week. For 16 years he worked on one of the many flower farms surrounding Bogota, usually without any kind of protective clothing. .
Today his kidneys are destroyed. Carlo should be able to rely on an invalidity pension, but his employers failed to make the necessary insurance payments.
03:20 OT Carlos Umbrey, ehem. Blumenarbeiter
Ive done everything I can to get my pension. But everywhere I turn I hear the same answer Carlos, if were honest weve got to say youll never get your pension, because your factory never paid its fees
03:39
The region around Bogota is covered in Flowerfarms. With real unemployment topping 40%, locals will take any job that comes their way. Job security, unemployment benefit, social services, pensions. All alien words to the flower farms legions of workers. Improvements to employee conditions wouldnt only be easy, but also cheap. This simple harness, for example, would be enough to prevent the frequent back complaints workers here suffer.
In an attempt to guaerantee such improvements, Human Rights organisations have developed the flower Label. Only factories that meet human and ecological standards can display it on their flowers.
04:28 OT Frank Brassel, Flower Label
In a good factory there are certain basics: Here the employees are wearing waterproof shoes, like leather, because its wet. Theyve got uniforms, theyve got gloves important of course to stop hand injuries, but also to keep off toxic pesticides. Theyve also got a hat to keep off the sun.
05:02
At this farm in Tenjo, near Bogota, the workers are given pollution masks. Dry, dusty conditions mean asthma is one of the most frequent illnesses at the farms. Treating workers well means the farm has a chance of attaining the coveted Flower label.
Administrator Maria Carolina Estrada applied, because she figures it will mean higher sales in Europe. Recent surveys have shown ethical trading is a top consideration in purchase decisions.
05:31 OT Maria Carolina Estrada, Verwalterin
I think Europeans think more about the the environment and employee rights than they do in the USA. In the US they dont care. They just look for quality and above all for a cheap price. (English)
05:52
The flower label is in growing demand. Since the terror attacks on the US a year ago, the US market has almost halved, and surplus flowers are left to rot. All eyes have turned to Europe. The flower label should help the hard sell to ethical consumers.
06:10
But each visit for inspector Frank Brassel reinforces his view that, whilst breeders like Pedro Mejia want the label, they arent really interested in improving conditions. Aide Silva was bullied for her involvement with the trades unions and for campaigning for her workmates. She was made to peel potatoes in the kitchen. The cost for her lunch was three times that of non union members. She was lucky it wasnt eliminated completely.
06:43 OT Aidé Silva, Gewerkschafterin "Untraflores"
Were under incredible pressure. They are watching and controlling us every second of the day, and try to play employees off against each other.
07:00
In such a climate its a harsh harvest for those seeking the flower label. Nevertheless, its a big step forward to expose farmowners like Pedro Mejia to independent assessment and criticism. But the control raises Mejias heckles. He argues against the reforms with the old cost argument. Still.
07:20 OT Pedro Mejia, Blumenzüchter «La Celestina»
If the importers would meet the extra costs, I could agree to it! Otherwise no way!
07:27
On this farm observers complain that part time workers arent even given any equipment. Franc Brassel is unimpressed by the cost plea. Ethically and environmentally sound flowers are only going to make, not cost money.
07:46 OT Frank Brassel, Flower Label
In our experience, it is proven employees who are well treated are therefore well motivated. At the same time such heavy use of pesticides is in fact very expensive. These are two of our main points. Thirdly, it pays for itself anyway, because the Market wants ethical goods, and the more consumers that want the label, then the safer and better the market is.
08:16
This certain breed of globalisation, contrary to most, is actually helping foster a higher quality of life for many workers. And slowly the owners are starting to understand that their flowers do not only have to look good. More than ever its the packaging that counts. It was Rossetti who said Flowers preach to us if we will hear the sermon should hopefully change a few lives for the better.
Reporter: Simone Jürgens
Camera: Gregor Johnson
Cut: Frank Farenski