Assassinations of Unionists in Colombia Unabated
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Jeff Vogt, an AFL-CIO global economic policy specialist, reminds us that Colombian trade unionists continue to pay with their lives in their struggles for justice on the job.
The Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Colombia( CUT) has reported the assassination of Francisco Antonio Abello Rebollo. This crime was committed in Empresa Inversiones Palo Alto Gnecco Espinosa, an African Palm plantation in the municipality of San Juan de Palo Prieto, Magdalena Department.
Assassins killed Mr. Abello on May 17. Abello, together with his co-workers, went on strike in December 2009 because the employer had refused to recognize or negotiate with the union. Subsequently, the company fired all 185 of the workers. The workers had decided to form the union in response to the company’s failure to pay wages and legally required social security health care benefits. When the workers presented their bargaining demands, they were forced off of the plantation by one of the managers accompanied by a mob of about 10 armed men. The mob fired on the workers, wounding one.
AFL-CIO Opposes Panama Deal, Calls for Trade Policy Review
BREAKING: President Obama has delayed moving the Panama trade deal because of union objections. Read more here.
Congress should not consider the U.S.-Panama trade agreement until Panama implements labor law and tax reforms and the Obama administration lays out a comprehensive, principled trade strategy for the United States.
Testifying before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee today, AFL-CIO Policy Director Thea Lee said the union movement will oppose the Panama deal unless these issues are resolved.
The AFL-CIO has called on Panama to bring its labor laws into compliance with the International Labor Organization’s (ILO’s) minimum standards. For example, Panama’s laws effectively prohibit the forming of a union in most workplaces and seriously limit the right to strike. A growing problem in Panama are the laws that allow employers to circumvent unions by repeatedly hiring the same workers on a temporary basis, rather than hiring them as full-time workers, Lee said.
Trade Deals Must Protect Everyone, Not Just Investors
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| Workers across the world, like these in South Korea, are opposed to trade deals that do not protect workers’ rights. |
Like the other provisions in U.S. trade agreements, the rules governing U.S. investment abroad and foreign investment in this country unfairly favor those with the capital while giving short shrift to workers and the environment.
Testifying before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade last week, AFL-CIO Policy Director Thea Lee said the investment provisions in U.S. trade agreements are out of balance, protecting investors’ rights, but not requiring investors to take responsibility to protect workers’ rights and the environment.
U.S. investors invested $333 billion in other countries in 2007 and $318 billion in 2008, more than any other country. The United States also was the largest recipient of foreign investment with $238 billion invested in 2007 and $325 billion in 2008.
