By e-mail – blackburn.J@parl.gc.ca & Emerson.D@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Jean Pierre Blackburn
Minister of Labour
And
The Honourable David Emerson
Minister of Trade
Dear Ministers:
The Public Service Alliance of Canada wishes to express its grave concern for the violations of trade union rights in Colombia and ongoing killings of trade union leaders and activists.
Despite claims to the contrary, the killing of trade unionists and other civil society organizations has not abated during the mandate of the government of President Alvaro Uribe Velez. In the first three months of 2008, 17 trade unionists have been murdered, and many others live under a constant climate of fear due to death threats, intimidations via phone, e-mail and text messages or being followed by potential assailants in vehicles. Trade union leaders and activists also face an increasing number of legal obstacles, and/or mass firings for exercising their rights, including limitations on the right to organize and bargain collectively, the forced dismantling of trade union structures under the guise of restructuring or privatization, the denial of certification of their unions, etc. All of these violations are well known to the Uribe government, yet the impunity surrounding these cases remains unchanged with a 3% conviction rate to date.
The recent murders include trade unionists coming from all sectors, including teachers, bank and health workers. On February 2nd, Parks Worker, José Martín Duarte Acero of the SINTRAMBIENTE union was shot in the back while working in the Macarena National Park. He died a few minutes after telling his family what had happened on his cell phone.
Ironically, several of the murders of trade unionists took place around the march “For the Dignity of Victims” held in Colombia on March 6th with the support of the trade union movement as a tribute to—and in solidarity with—all the victims of arbitrary violence and the armed conflict, and of course, the families of the 2,574 assassinated trade unionists; with the over four million displaced persons, most of whom have lost all their land and possessions; with the 10,000 disappeared; with the hundreds of kidnap victims and with the thousands of victims of massacres and selective killings.
By means of a public communiqué, the government pointed out that it did not support this demonstration, but offered guarantees for the programmed events to take place. Nevertheless, Mr. José Obdulio Gaviria, adviser to President Uribe made public declarations referring to the planned demonstration as a march “convened by the FARC”. Despite a request by the organizers of the March 6th Global Action Day, no government spokesperson withdrew these assertions. This situation generated an increasingly tense atmosphere which was further exacerbated by the declaration of the paramilitary group, Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, claiming that guerrillas were responsible for instigating the march. In the lead-up to March 6th, organizations promoting the day of action in Nariño were threatened and on February 28th, gunshots were fired at local organizer, Adriana González in her apartment in Pereira. Many similar incidents have taken place throughout the country.
The declarations made by the government spokesperson, José Obdulio Gaviria, generated a propitious atmosphere for violence that has cost the lives of four trade unionists.
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Carmen Cecilia Carvajal, teacher. Killed March 4th, in Ocaña.
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Leonidas Gómez Rozo, bankworker and President of the CITY-BANK Employees Union. Killed on March 5th in Bogotá.
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Gildardo Gómez Alzate, teacher and activist killed March 7th, in Medellín.
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Carlos Burbano, vice-president of the National Hospital Workers' Union who led the local March 6th demonstrations, disappeared on March 9th in San Vicente del Caguán. His body was found in the municipal rubbish dump, his face disfigured by acid.
Despite international protest, the killings and threats against trade unionists continue:
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Adolfo Gonzalez Montes, leader of the miners' trade union SINTRACARBON was tortured and killed on March 22nd in the city of Riohacha in the department of La Guajira. Mr. Gonzalez had his throat slashed. He was killed in his own home just prior to his 6:00 a.m. shift at the Cerrejon mine. Other union members have received death threats.
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Emerson Ivan Herrera Ruales and Luz Mariela Diaz Lopez, teachers and trade unionists were killed by unknown gunmen who shot them as they made their way to work on the morning of April 1st. Both were teachers at a rural school in Valle del Guamez, in the department of Putumayo. Compounding the atrocity of the crime is the fact that Diaz Lopez was seven months pregnant at the time she was murdered.
We have also received an urgent alert from the Public Services International representing 20 million workers in 160 countries around the world, that on March 12, 2008 serious threats were sent by e-mail against Maria Fernanda Bolaños, a member of PSI affiliate SINTRAEMSIRVA. These threats follow action taken by the workers' union of the Cali waste and sanitation services, denouncing plans to privatize the service and the resulting increase in tariffs. The workers' union had presented alternative proposals which would have kept the services in public hands, maintained decent work for the employees and resulted in a quality service for the users. Since opposing privatization plans, the leaders, members and activists of SINTRAEMSIRVA have been the victims of harassment and threats.
The ILO and other international human rights bodies have brought considerable attention to the situation regarding the systematic attack on workers' rights and their unions in Colombia. The Uribe government is well aware of these crimes and violations, and has taken no action to curb the violence. Consequently, we do not believe for a minute that a Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement will save any lives or reduce the threats to labour activists, notwithstanding the fact that the current trade deal may include a chapter on labour and a parallel labour side deal. Experience with other trade deals supports the contention of the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers that the ability of workers to protect their rights and livelihood has been seriously diminished by the advent of regional preferential trade agreements. The situation in Colombia is compounded by the Colombia's government's unwillingness to reform its labour legislation to comply with ILO standards. Colombia is rife with impunity and a bilateral trade deal between our countries will only compound the problem.
We urge you to stop the negotiations of the trade deal until Colombian workers can exercise their rights freely without putting their lives in danger. A trade deal will not bring an end to the impunity under which so many crimes are committed against trade unionists and the civilian population in general.
Sincerely,
John Gordon
National President
c.c.
AEC
Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Honourable Jack Layton, New Democratic Party of Canada
Honourable Stéphane Dion, Liberal Party of Canada
Ms. Elizabeth May, Green Party of Canada
Ken Georgetti, Canadian Labour Congress
Peter Hall Jones, PSI
PSI Headquarters
Public Service International – Inter-Americas
Philip J. Jennings, UNI General Secretary
Jacques Lahair, Standing Committee on International Trade
Canadian Embassy in Bogota
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Date Modified : 2008/04/23
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