Ethiopia: Three-day strike in Oromia region leads to worker shortage
Rose growers
FloralDaily.com spoke to Qualirosa, AQRoses, Holla Roses, and Afriflora, who are all growing roses in the Oromia region. They reported that they were affected by the shortage of workers and could therefore not ship out their flowers for one or two days. The growers regret the situation but are relieved that it has gone by fairly calm, without any violence. Even though they could not ship out their flowers for one or two days, they were able to supply their clients without major problems. Today, they are all back in business.
HortiFlora
Next month, the horticultural and Floriculture exhibition HortiFlora will be held in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. In 2016, this show was cancelled due to tensions in the country, will this strike get in the way of this show? The growers and the organization of the show do not think so. "I just returned from Addis Ababa yesterday morning and, yes, there have been strikes. However, it cannot be compared to two years ago. These strikes were peaceful and it is again calm in the region. Preparations for the exhibition are going well and our exhibitors are looking forward to it", says organizer Dick van Raamsdonk.
Strikes
Starting on February 12, there has been a three-day strike in the Oromia Region. According to allafrica.com, the protesters' main demands were the release of political prisoners and removal of military personnel from parts of the region. On the second day of the strike, Tuesday 13, political prisoner Bekele Gerba was released and the strikes were suspended. "In honor of this release, the Oromo strikes were suspended, and the crowds in the streets turned jubilant. Then, on February 14, authorities stunned and delighted the protesters further by releasing other extremely prominent dissidents, some of whom had been imprisoned on “terrorism” charges for years, the atlanticcouncil.org reports.