A Brief Report on the situation at Rosebud ltd. a Flower Farm in Uganda

Working conditions at Rosebud Ltd continue to be bad despite the fact that the union UHAWU and UWEA (Uganda Workers' Educational Association) have several times called upon the management to improve on the working conditions. Things went off hand when one worker Mr. Safari Mazirani a member of Uganda Horticultural and Allied Workers Union was injured in a chemical accident on 30th November, 2009 at 9.30am at his workplace in Rosebud Ltd.

A report was availed to the Union by one of Mazirani’s workmates a fellow sprayer who reported that; Mr. Safari Mazirani was on his normal duties as a sprayer in Blue 111 section in Rosebud Ltd when high pressure caused the chemical (a mixture of Nimrod and thunder chemicals) to gash out from a loose valve along the spray line and hit Mazirani’s face with force. As he gasped for help it is likely that he swallowed some of the chemical and some of it entered his eyes. This happened at 9.30am and the case was reported to management. Mr. Mazirani reached the Company clinic at 1.00pm for first aid.

After some days the Company took Mr. Mazirani to Kisubi Hospital where he got some treatment but by that time He was feeling dizzy, headache, and had blurred vision.

During the month of January the company Administration manager took Mr. Mazirani to some hospital, which the company administrator told him, was Mengo hospital. As he was not able to see he believed it. MR. Mazirani narrated that a medical personnel in that hospital injected him with some medicine which made him feel very bad and he asked the medical person to tell him what medicine he was injected with. The answer from the medical personnel and in the presence of the Rosebud Administration Manager was that, it was medicine that could manage his illness.

The union called a meeting with workers on 6th Jan, 2010 where several issues were discussed but the main agenda was to discuss about Mazirani’s chemical accident. In that meeting workers gave the management an ultimatum demanding that their working conditions be improved by 25th January 2010 or face the consequences of a strike on 26th January 2010.

After the meeting the union officials visited Mazirani at his home and found him in agony he could no longer see and had severe headache. The union promised to take him to hospital on 8th January a day they hoped to have everything in their capacity to help Mr. Mazirani.

On 7th January 2010 the day before his death Mr. Mazirani went to see (with the guidance of a fellow worker) the Administration Manager Rosebud Ltd., who told Mr. Mazirani that he was fed up with him and told him to go away and even removed the gate pass from him (Mazirani) and told him never to come back again to the farm. Unfortunately Mr. Mazirani Safari died on 8th Jan, 2010 at around 9.40am, before the union could take him to hospital.

It is highly suspected that it is the chemical that killed Mr. Mazirani however, Investigations are still being carried out by the medical personnel to establish whether it was the chemicals which splashed on him that killed him or not.

The union asked the labour centre (NOTU) which it is affiliated to, to organize a meeting with the Union’s Executive Committee, Federation of Uganda Employers, and Uganda Flower Exporters Association to chart a way forward for the worsening industrial relations in Rosebud Ltd. In that meeting, noting the urgency of the matter UHAWU was asked to re-negotiate Recognition and Negotiations Procedural Agreement with Rosebud Limited within a week’s time and thereafter negotiate a CBA.

Management seeing that the workers were determined with what they said hurriedly called the union (UHAWU) to negotiate with them Recognition and Negotiation Procedural Agreement immediately. Negotiations started on 18th January 2010 and were concluded on 25th January 2010. Workers did not recognize that agreement as important; all they wanted was salary increase.

On 26th January 2010 workers went on a sit down strike and management called Police who came and beat up the striking workers. Some of the workers were arrested and detained in Police Cells. The situation was not helped as the workers continued to demand for a pay rise.

Management then had to call the union in haste so as to negotiate at least some salary increase. UWEA and the Workers and Environmental Rights Network (WERN) were also represented in that impromptu meeting where a salary increase of 10% was given to all workers, in an interim Memorandum of Understanding. The interim Memorandum of understanding provided for:

  1. Increase of salary by 10% for all workers pending the conclusion of a comprehensive CBA.
  2. That the union takes it upon itself to explain this position to the workers and to call upon them to resume duty immediately as negotiations continue.
  3. That no workers shall be terminated from duty on grounds of having participated in the strike.
  4. That the cost for treatment of workers that were beaten up in the process of the strike shall be met by the company.
  5. That all workers shall be paid their daily wage for the day they were on strike.
  6. That the union leaders take to call upon workers to always exercise their rights in a non-violent manner to promote smooth negotiations.
  7. That police be called upon to release all the workers that were arrested and detained immediately to allow smooth negotiations.

CBA negotiations are now scheduled to take place from 9th February, 2010.

We call upon the international community to write protest letters to Rosebud Ltd, asking them to improve working conditions on the farm.

Download model letter

Please print out model letter, sign and post to Women Working Worldwide, address below, or UWEA, P O Box 10114, Kampala, Uganda for forwarding to Rosebud Ltd.

Updated 9th Feb 2010