AFL-CIO Still Vigorously Opposes Colombia Trade Deal
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The AFL-CIO will continue to vigorously oppose the proposed free trade agreement with Colombia so long as the “horrifying levels of labor and human rights violations in the country” continue.
Testifying today before the Senate Finance Committee, Jeff Vogt, deputy director of the AFL-CIO International Department, said Colombia’s workers lack decent work after an epidemic of violence against working people and unions.
Colombia’s labor laws also undermine the free exercise of fundamental labor rights and there are no policies aimed at job creation and social protection. As a result, fewer than 5 percent of Colombian workers today are in a union and fewer than 2 percent of workers are covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
Report: The Struggle for Workers’ Rights in Guatemala
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For decades, workers in Guatemala have been unable to fully benefit from the wealth in the country or to share the profits of their own labor. The nation’s 36-year armed conflict, which ended in 1996, involved savage repression of workers and indigenous people.
Although the fighting long has ended, the war generated a climate of corruption, violence and impunity that continues to grow, according to a new report by the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center.
Released today, ”Justice for All: The Struggle for Worker Rights in Guatemala” chronicles the courageous struggle of Guatemala’s workers to build better lives, often against deadly odds. Another report, the “Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights,” released a week ago by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), lists Guatemala as the second most dangerous country for union members in 2008, after Colombia.
