In low season, workers at the plantation regularly work about 50 hours per week. The high season workweek is often 70-80 hours. Men report waking up around 5 a.m.; for women it is often as early as 3 a.m. in order to finish housework, feed their children and prepare them for school. The bus arrives between 5 and 5:30.
Once at the plantation, they put on their work clothes, and must be in position when the bell rings at 6:15 a.m. The post-harvest section, in which flowers are sorted by quality and color, employs only women, while the cultivation and packing sections mostly employ men.
The number of hours worked daily depends on the worker’s department, but a typical worker will stay at work during the low season from 6:15 a.m. until 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 6:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. They are allowed 30 minutes for lunch and at least one 15-minute break. During the high season, workers report working 14 or 15-hour days. They begin work at 6:15 a.m. and often stay until 10 or 11 p.m. At the end of the day the workers return home in buses, then start all over again the next day.
Below, Stella Orjuela talks about her daily schedule and her experience as a worker in the flower industry. Other videos of flower workers are available on our Flower Resources page.
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