Colombia not enforcing U.S. trade deal labor standards: unions

[Judi Lynn]

Colombia not enforcing U.S. trade deal labor standards: unions
WASHINGTON | By David Lawder


Colombia has failed to enforce worker protections in a free trade agreement with the United States, U.S. and Colombian labor unions said on Monday, raising questions about similar provisions in the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

In a complaint, filed with a division of the U.S. Labor Department, the unions said threats and acts of violence against trade unionists in Colombia were neither properly investigated nor prosecuted.

The AFL-CIO and four Colombian unions said in the complaint that since the U.S.-Colombian trade deal took effect in 2011, some 99 Colombian workers and worker advocates were killed as they tried to exercise their rights. Six workers were kidnapped, and 955 death threats were received, the complaint said.

The unions, including those representing many of Colombia's oil workers and farm workers, also said the Colombian government ignored protections for workers who want to unionize and allowed the rampant use of subcontractors in violation of union contracts.

More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-colombia-trade-labor-idUSKCN0Y71G8

LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141452606

[Judi Lynn]

1. Violence Against Trade Unionists Remains Rampant in Colombia

Violence Against Trade Unionists Remains Rampant in Colombia
Published 17 May 2016 (13 hours 36 minutes ago)


Colombian labor unions said the country's authorities have failed to enforce worker protections and revealed that they are being threatened


Colombia has failed to enforce worker protections in a free trade agreement with the United States, U.S. and Colombian labor unions said on Monday.

In a complaint issued by the AFL-CIO along with four Colombian unions, the organized labor groups said threats and acts of violence against trade unionists in Colombia were neither properly investigated nor prosecuted.

For trade union murders, impunity presently stands at 87 percent. For death threats, the most common threat used against Colombian unionists, the rate of impunity comes to a scandalous 99.8 percent, the report noted.

The 69-page document also criticized an initiative proposed by the Obama administration known as the Labor Action Plan (LAP), which was agreed upon in order to enable the passage of the controversial Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

More:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Violence-Against-Trade-Unionists-Remains-Rampant-in-Colombia-20160517-0015.html