Florists demand a five-day week: a life between flowers and stress!

Florists demand a five-day week: a life between flowers and stress!

In the Mecklenburg Lake District there are over 100 employees working in the floristry industry, with the majority of florists being women. These creative minds not only make bouquets, wreaths and arrangements, but also decorate shop windows, sales rooms and hotel foyers. But despite their essential role in major life events such as christenings, weddings and funerals, many florists face harsh working conditions. Wolfgang Ehlert from IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt describes the situation as untenable and is calling for a five-day week and 32 days of annual vacation for florists. Currently, annual leave is only 24 days, while many employees often have to work up to six days at a time.

In addition, Ehlert emphasizes the need for overtime pay, which, however, is not guaranteed in many companies. The IG BAU Ostmecklenburg-Western Pomerania union is currently planning negotiations with the German Florists Association (FDF) to negotiate a new collective agreement. The concerns of the florists, who often work under high pressure and little free time, are supported by Elisabeth Wolff, a florist and chairwoman of IG BAU. She speaks openly about the dissatisfaction in the industry caused by long work weeks and scarce vacation time.

Challenges in the industry

In the floristry industry, a six-day week is not uncommon, which leads to increased working hours, especially in the high season in spring. Flower shops are often crowded on the Sunday before Mother's Day, and sales for Mother's Day gifts topped a billion euros last year. 60 percent of buyers chose flowers, which underlines the great importance of florists for the tradition of giving flowers. Despite this high demand, many employees only do their work with the statutory minimum vacation of 20 days, as overtime pay is rare.

The union planned to implement several significant improvements in the new collective agreement. These include the introduction of a five-day week, 32 days of annual leave and overtime pay from the first hour. A better compatibility of family and work is also on the agenda. Ehlert and Wolff agree that the growing pressures are affecting the motivation of florists and that this is also being noticed by customers.

Occupational and social inequalities

A central problem in the industry is the circumvention of collective bargaining agreements by large floristry chains, which leads to lower wages. The majority of the industry is low-paid and it is alarming that the majority of employees are women. With over 27,000 employees in the floristry sector, it is high time that florists' working conditions and pay were seriously improved.

IG BAU actively advocates for the rights of florists and demands fair working conditions that also improve the social and economic situation of the employees as a whole. The planned negotiations with the FDF could continue this momentum and bring about long-overdue changes in the industry.

For more information visit We are Müritzers and IG BAU.