Nina von Kalckreuth
Red roses are a much sought-after product, especially for Valentine's Day, which is already sold out in all flower shops before February 14th. Many think the flowers come from the Netherlands. Some of them do, but a large proportion of the flowers are imported from African countries, such as Kenya. In a published in 2010 Study Katrin Merhof examines Kenyan labor law and its implementation on the flower plantations.
Since aid for rural development has been cut, Kenya has relied on the flower industry since the 1980s. The number rose from 14.000 tons of cut flowers in 1990 to 93.000 tons that were exported in 2008 - especially to Germany. Around 500.000 Kenyans are employed in the flower industry - however, women are predominantly women who work on the flower plantations because they tend to have poorer schooling than men and are cheap labor. A cheap bouquet of flowers pleases the European buyer, but the environment suffers from long transport routes and the use of pesticides. The greatest burden, however, is borne primarily by the workforce, whose labor rights are often violated.
Some legal problems for Kenyan workers in the flower industry:
- Language comprehension difficulties in the employment contract for taking up work: many Kenyans who only know Swahili or other tribal languages do not understand the often verbal employment contracts in English.
- The most adhered to minimum wage it is not enough for the existence of many families, above all because workers have to pay for accommodation in the workplace themselves from their wages.
- Health problems (especially back pain, vomiting and swollen legs) can be attributed to the use of the pesticides, about which the workers are not informed and against which they are usually not given protective clothing. The monotonous, stressful strain on the body during work also causes problems - those affected usually do not receive medical support from their employer.
- discrimination: this can occur due to race, skin color, gender, language, religion, political opinion, nationality, descent, disability, pregnancy, mental state or HIV disease. Women in particular feel discrimination based on gender. They earn less on average than men, and sexual harassment is also a major problem. Better training of women and education about their rights would be required to permanently improve the role of women in Kenyan society - but here as well in Europe, the whole society has to participate, this is a lengthy process.
There are also many other issues, such as the massive pollution of water by the flower industry, causing fishermen and residents to lose their livelihood. But even if there are laws, they are often not implemented due to corruption or a lack of knowledge of rights. As long as European florists expect low prices and high flexibility from African trading partners, no improvement is in sight, according to Merhof. The upcoming Valentine's Day makes you think - where do the flowers come from? Why do they cost so little?
Photos: Unsplash
