Colombia -- A Grim #1 Ranking

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The International Trade Union Confederation is a global organization that represents the "interests of working people worldwide." It was formed in 2006 by combining the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) as well as other trade union organizations. Every year this organization publishes a Worldwide Survey that looks at Labor Union repression around the globe. This year, Colombia placed an unflattering 1st (out of 143 nations) on the list of most dangerous places to belong to or lead a labor union. In 2010 alone, 49 union activists were murdered in Colombia. This represents 55% of all union murders worldwide. There were an additional 20 attempted murders. The report states, "The legal system continues to be ineffective in solving these murders and bringing those responsible to justice. While the new government claims to take workers’ rights seriously, anti-union attitudes among employers remain strong. Numerous violations of collective agreements were reported."

Colombians that support Worker Rights have spoken out in strong opposition to the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. Do you have an opinion? Watch the following 2 videos and leave a comment.


Comments

Rebecca said…
I am not in support for the free trade agreement. I do not all of the details of the agreement, but I have not heard of many positive outcomes for small farmers.

The speaker in the first clip talks about the displaced people. My church's Sister Church in Colombia has a feeding program. They feed over 70 children of displaced families every day and there is no end in sight. Sadly, I cannot see how the free trade agreement will improve the situation.
June 11, 2011 at 7:21 PM
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