Colombia labor leaders want “freedom to organize without fear of being assisinated”

The International Workers Rights Caucus presented a briefing on “Columbian Labor Leaders Speak Out” featuring Colombian labor leaders. Congressman Phil Hare (D-Ill.) said Colombia is the “most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists” and that most Colombian labor unions oppose the Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Alfonso Velazquez Rico, national executive committee member of the Unitary Workers Center and the rubber and leather workers union, said that the Colombian government is trying to persuade the U.S. Congress that the labor situation is better in Colombia, but he said it has gotten worse. He said so far this year 25 unionists have been murdered, and that the government is linked with paramilitary groups.

Evan Torro Lopez, executive committee member of the National Association of Bank Workers, said more than 95% of Columbian labor unions oppose the FTA. He said the arguments for opposing the trade agreement go beyond the issue of physical safety because it also profoundly affects economic and sociological life in Colombia. He said all results from opening up the country’s free market have been negative, that the statistics the government provided for economic development are misleading, and that while the banks and trade sectors benefited, other sectors were negatively affected. He said the trade deficit in Columbia is $20 billion.

Lopez also said U.S. companies are protected by the government to keep unions from being formed. He said jobs are being outsourced and that workers in the U.S. will suffer too. Percy Oyola Paloma, president of the national union of telecommunications workers, said that many workers are afraid to start or affiliate with trade unions, and that the government ministries create difficulties in creating trade unions and collective bargaining power.