“Colombian labor legislation is strict and enforced,” wrote Asocolflores President Augutso Solano, in a letter to the editor published on Feb. 27 in The Washington Post.
Asocolflores, the Association of Colombian Flower Exporters, contacted The Washington Post this week to refute claims made by a representative of a nonprofit organization that Asocolflores argued “showed little knowledge about the cut flower industry in Colombia.”
“Colombian labor legislation is strict and enforced,” wrote Asocolflores President Augutso Solano, in a letter to the editor published on Feb. 27 (“You can give Colombian flowers to your sweetheart guilt-free”). “All workers have benefits that many U.S. companies don’t offer, including paid medical leave, 18 weeks of maternity leave, paternity leave and universal health coverage. And minimum-wage laws are strictly enforced, including wage increases for overtime.”
Solano’s letter was in response to a letter (“The exploitation behind Valentine’s Day flowers”) published by The Post on Feb. 21, written by Walker Grooms of Witness for Peace, a U.S.-based grassroots organization founded in 1983. In his letter, Grooms called working conditions in the Colombian floral industry “abysmal.”
Solano ended the letter by writing, “there are many things we in the industry must continue to improve. However, we are proud of the social and environmental standards we’ve developed and implemented, and the tremendous progress made in support of our workers and the environment.”
