Violation of workers' rights and tax evasion. Here are the allegations for Karuturi Global Ltd, the largest rose producing company, with particular reference to long-stemmed roses. this is the first occasion in which an African government has been employed to bring a lawsuit against a multinational through a public trial.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Violation of workers rights ed tax evasion. Here are the allegations for Karuturi Global Ltd, one of the largest producers of roses and cut flowers in the world. This is the first occasion in which an African government has taken steps to bring a lawsuit against a multinational through a public trial.
The decision was positively received by civil movements and organizations, especially as it was considered as a real transparency operation. The company was found guilty of tax evasion and violation of workers' rights. Karuturi Global Ltd would have put in place illegal ploys in order to avoid il payment of taxes owed to the state.
The production of roses by Karuturi does not only concern Africa, with particular reference to Kenya and Ethiopia, but also India. According to the stime, one in nine roses purchased in Europe comes from Karuturi crops. The tax fraud they were committed by declaring lower values for the loads sent by ship to Europe than in reality.
Failure to pay the taxes due to the State can only result in a reduction in the possibilities of activating the best i public services available to the inhabitants, starting with education, and then moving on to health and transport, second what was stated by Attiya Waris, an expert in administrative law at the University of Nairobi.
The company was also accused of underpaid employees and of do not operate respecting the environment. A real one would have occurred legalized expropriation of land in Ethiopia, through the purchase of the rights to exploit 300 hectares of fertile land in the area. The purchase procedure was judged to be regular, but due to the conflicts that arose in the area, the relocation of those who were deprived of the land on which they lived was difficult. The process is part of the large-scale expansion of the company's business.
It would be a real operation of land grabbing, for which the culprits were fortunately caught in the act. Karuturi will have to account not only for its own tax fraud, but also for the disadvantaged conditions of its workers and the damage done to the environment.
Among the workers most affected by the problem are the natives of Anuak community, whose treatment he conducted Anywaa Survival Organisation, which fights in their defense, to define the multinational and its work as a criminal. Due to the poor working conditions to which they were forced, about 1000 workers of the Shalimar Flower Farm had called a strike last September and, in December, more than 3000 flower growers of Karuturi they had protested for their low wages and unspeakable conditions in the workplace. The hope is that now, thanks to a transparent process, they can find justice.
Marta Albè
Photo source: farmlandgrab.org
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