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Non-traditional agricultural export industries: Conditions for women workers in Colombia and Peru
Gender & Development, Volume 16 Issue 1March 01, 2008Nora Ferm
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Women comprise the majority of the workforce in many non-traditional agricultural export (NTAE) industries, which international lending and aid agencies espouse as a development solution for rural poor people. In the Peruvian asparagus industry and the Colombian cut-flower plantations, however, women workers endure unsafe and substandard conditions. Local organisations creatively employ various strategies, ranging from legislative advocacy to direct services for workers, to promote women's rights in this sector, but their efficacy is limited by governments' failure to pass and enforce comprehensive labour laws, and judicial procedures that favour employers.
Gallery
Workers in the cut flower industry experience long hours and low pay. Here is a photo gallery that show what the greenhouses look like that produce the flowers we give to our loved ones.
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Don't Let Dole Pull Another Splendor on Fragancia
Action is needed to stop Dole from a repeat of what happened to workers of Splendor when they tried to bargain for a contract. Dole has a chance to redeem itself by respecting worker rights. Send an email to Dole demanding they negotiate in good faith with the Fragancia workers.
Video
This interview was done in November 2006 in Colombia by the US Labor Education in the Americas Project. Stella is a flower worker at a Dole plantation just outside of Bogota.