Kampala — The demand for flowers on global market has been affected by the international financial crises leading to closure of some gardens.

Olav Boenders, a director at WAGAGAI, a flower grower and exporter, said the foreign market for the flowers had been greatly affected by the international financial crisis because consumers are now concentrating mainly on essentials.

"We have been forced to close three of our flower gardens in Entebbe due to stumbling market," Boenders said.

He was speaking at his flower farms off Entebbe road where he received Charles Bakkabulindi, the sports state minister, recently.

Boenders added that flower growers were striving to reduce operational costs in a bid to catch up with the changing demand for their product globally.

Bakkabulindi, who is also the workers' Member of Parliament, sympathised with the investor but urged him to avoid mistreating their employees as a way of motivating increased productivity.

"I have on several occasions received complaints of mistreatment and under- payment of employees by some investors," Bakkabulindi said.

He said it was against labour laws to force employees to work for longer hours with little pay.

During the meeting, Wilson Were, the president of the National Organisation for Trade Unions, urged workers to join trade unions so they could have a strong and common voice.

"Trade unions can be used as channels through which you can communicate to your employers on issues that seem unfavourable to you before the situation worsens," Were said.