UNI rejects and condemns violence against trade union movement
UNI Global Union rejects and condemns the recent violence against the trade union movement in Colombia, in particular threats against leaders of the executive committees of the CUT and CGT union centrals, and the murder of Juan Carlos Pérez Muñoz, leader of Sintrainagro in “La Cabania” sugar mill in Cauca.
Pérez Muñoz worked as a cane cutter and had actively participated in the organizing of the mill’s union, established on November 28, which in only one month managed to affiliate 560 cutters. But two months later, on January 28, when Pérez Muñoz left for work as usual, he was gunned down by two men while waiting at the bus stop near his home.
UNI also condemns the threats received by the CUT’s national leaders, who received an email signed by an "urban commando of Los Rastrojos", stating that they are a military target and rejects intimidation by painted walls at the CGT headquarters in Urabá, where slogans appeared signed by the FARC, together with pamphlets of death threats to confederation leaders in Antioch.
In a letter addressed to the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos Calderón and the Minister of Labor, Rafael Pardo Rueda, UNI Global Union’s General Secretary, Philip Jennings, expressed that UNI sees as "very positive" for Colombian workers and the world, "the window of opportunity that has opened" in that country for labor and unions with the creation of the Ministry of Labor, the adoption of commitments such as the Action Plan on Labor Rights, and the International Labor Organization (ILO) High Level Mission’s conclusions.
He explain that UNI has sought that this opportunity be transformed into concrete changes for Colombian workers and their unions, particularly generating processes of dialogue and agreements with companies in the service sector, which will enable to exercise the right of association "safely and free from pressure and threats."
He mentioned that UNI looks forward to the negotiation process that the government has begun with the FARC, noting that UNI has always believed that "peace must be reached in order to build a fairer and more just society”, and that "an atmosphere of dialogue and understanding will create better and more dynamic growth with social inclusion. For these reasons, UNI sees "with great concern the recent acts of violence against trade union leaders" in the country, noting that despite the murder of 20 unionists the year before, which remains a "reason of distress", the number is lower than previous years, and "there remains a high rate of violence" against unionists.
The letter added that, Muñoz Pérez's murder, the threats to the CUT’s national leaders, and the graffiti against the headquarters of the CGT, are facts that not only "point to the persistence of anti-union violence in Colombia, but can, if no immediate action is taken" delay aspirations to have employment contracts, join unions, and have collective bargaining for work conditions.
He stated that for this reason UNI "joins the voices that reject and condemn any act of violence committed" against the Colombian trade union movement, and urges Santos’ government, "not only to take all necessary security measures for the protection of unionists, but also to reach a significant agreement for the protection of the right of association in Colombia, including employers, unions, and state institutions, and that union organizations such as UNI, will provide all their support.”