A systematic exclusion policy

Abstract

REPORT□ COLOMBIA A systematic exclusion policy InColombiathere are morethan 17.5 million workers,ofwhich less thanthree millionhave the right tojoin a union,because thisis onlya right ofdirectly contractually employedworkers MIGUEL PUERTO IsColombia / Latin America Coordinator with ICTUR In London The trade displacement humanitarian unionmovement and crisis death, facing is but not the also just Colombian threats, a clear tradeunionmovement is not justthreats, displacement and death,but also a clear strategy thatseekstheelimination ofthisimportantsocialsector . DespitethefactthatColombiaappearsbefore theworldas a formal democracy, theColombian trade unionsareliving through a particularly serious situation of exclusionforthe exerciseof labourandtradeunionrights. Colombia'sconstitution defines thecountry as a socialanddemocratic 'stateoflaw'forworkers andtheir organisations, butthereality showsthat thetradeunionmovement is notincluded inthis conceptof a stabledemocratic politicalsystem. Instead, thetradeunionisidentified as an enemy of the Stateand of business.By creating this image,theauthorities havecreatedand nurtured a cultural deeplyrootedanti-union messagein thecountry. On 23 July2007,Francisco Santos, the Vice President of Colombianmade public statements criticising theparticipation ofvarious unions in a conferencein Quito, Ecuador. Appearing on TELESURon 16 August2007,the VicePresident said theunions'makeapologyto violenceand support terrorists'. Labourdisputes aretreated as a policematter; as happened last year,withthe management givenbytheGovernment to thelabourdisputes generated byjudicialstaff and cane cutters. The mobilisationorganised by the judicial staff (Asonal Judicial), was decided by the Government declaringa 'stateof siege' (BBC World Service (BBC Mundo),HermanSalazar,10 October2009)The reactions oftheGovernment and employers againstthestrike (carried outby morethat15,000sugarcane cutters in thesugar plantations oftheValledel Cauca) werecharacterisedby theongoingattempt to discredit the workers' protest. Denial ofunionrights One oftheproblems ofmostconcern forthefull exercise oftheright totrade unionfreedom isthe low levels of trade union membershipin Colombia.In the country thereare morethan 17.5 millionworkers, of whichless thanthree million havetheright tojoina union, becausethe lawprovides that they canexercise that right only those workersemployedthrough employment contact. Thusonlyfour ofevery100workers are affiliated to a union.The tradeunionfederations reportmembership levels of 4.5 percent,the samelevelas in1947.Therearea number ofreasonsforthis , including: thehighnumber ofcases of seriousviolentattacksagainsttradeunion leaders;theimpunity related to theinvestigation ofthesecases;thedenialoftradeunionregistration ,thesackingofworkers during theregistrationor negotiation process;and the signing of phoneycollective agreements (pactoscolectivos) withnon-union organisations. The Ministry ofSocialProtection deniesregistration to manynew tradeunions.According to the reportViolence , impunity and violationof labour rights and tradeunion rights , by Jose Luciano Sanin Vasquez NationalTrade Union School(ENS) from 2000to 2007theStatedenied theregistration of253 new tradeunions.Thisis in spite of the fact that the situationwas denounced on multipleoccasions beforethe Committee ofExperts oftheILO,whichin 2006 (and on other occasions)hascalledforan endto arbitrary interference in thecreation and operationofunions . Restructuring hitsunions TheGovernment promotes theextinction oftrade unions,and itallowsemployers to do thesame. The presentGovernment has restructured 412 publicentities, removing morethan38,000posts, andwithin several oftheseentities hasliquidated thecompany entirely. SinceColombian industrial relations arebasedon a modelofworkplace and company-level organisations, this has had the effect ofdestroying theunionand thecollective agreement. In each case, the Government has then immediately establisheda new company withthesame functions. A recentexamplewas that ofthewastecollection company inthecity of Cali,Emsirva, whichinvolved thedismissal of439 workersand 34 official public employees.Of theseworkers, 420wereunionised; thelocalgovernment established threenew wastecollection companies tocarry outthesamework. Theworkers forthosenew companiesdo not have the opportunity to establish a tradeunionbecause they arecontact workers, employed byassociated workcooperatives (CTA).The former unionof Emsirva, with thesupport oftheglobalunionfederationPublic ServicesInternational (PSI) presentedsubmissions to the ILO. At the end on 2008, the same situation arose in the cityof Barranquilla, in whicheconomical viableinstitutions wereliquidated andrestructured, dismissing morethan2,300workers, invalidating collective agreements, and destroying theunion(formore on thecase ofEmsirva, see National TradeUnion Schoolof Colombia(ENS), Systematic Exclusion Policy(May2009)). The Ministry ofSocial Protection The current Government of AlvaroUribeabolishedtheMinistry ofLabourandmerged with the Ministry of Healthto give birthto the current Ministry of Social Protection. This Ministry has only289labourinspectors, dividedinto32 territorial divisions, 2 offices and 112branches, with INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 26 Volume 16Issue 42009 whichto ensuretheenforcement ofcorelabour rights in 1.101municipalities, whichmeansthe presence of0.2 inspectors percounty, compared a universe offormal enterprises close to 400,000 nationwide. Although Colombia ratified Conventions 81 of1947and 129of 1969regardinglabourinspections , thesehave not had the required effects, firstly becauseoftheelimination oftheLabourMinistry andtheresulting weakeningofitsfunctions within theMinistry ofSocial Protection; secondly because the systemof labourinspection is completely precarious inthe faceofthecontinuous andreiterated violation of labourrights. Thiscan be seen,forexample,in thelongwaitsthattheworkers mustendurefor their complaints tobe processed, whichcantake twoyears with no solution. Thesecomplaints are being put forward to the current ministry of socialprotection. Publicsector workers TheITUCpointsoutthat"Colombian legislation has introduceda principleof discrimination against thejobs and collective bargaining rights ofpublicsectorworkers, byclassifying themas 'official workers' ('trabajadores...