One month ago, the ICFTU released its Annual Survey of Trade Union 
Rights.  According to its report, in 1997 nearly 300 trade unionists were killed 
for standing up for their rights. Incredibly more than half of these (156) were
Colombian unionists, including 61 teachers.

What follows is the Colombia section of the ICFTU report. The entire report
can be found on the internet at  http://www.icftu.org



SURVEY OF TRADE UNION RIGHTS OF THE ICFTU
June 9, 1998

COLOMBIA     C87/C98

At least 156 union leaders and members were murdered in 1997 and 
hundreds of trade unionists had to leave their homes because of death 
threats. Union activists continue to be stigmatised as enemies of the state, and 
there was evidence that many of the murders were linked to collective
bargaining or industrial disputes.

The violence was rarely if ever investigated. Paramilitaries were mostly to
blame; there were fewer reports of attacks by the security forces and guerrilla
groups.

The number of murders was lower than the 1996 total of 253 because of the
decline in violence in the Uraba region where paramilitary forces have
consolidated themselves. The teachers' union, FECODE, suffered the most,
followed by agricultural workers' unions. FECODE said that 61 teachers were
killed in 1997 and four had disappeared. Almost half of the victims were from
the department of Antioquia.

In January, the government declared a 20-day state of economic emergency
that included a below-inflation ceiling on pay rises. The three national union
centres responded by organising a public sector strike beginning on 11
February. The strikers' demands included an end to privatisation; action
against violence; an end to the criminal punishment of strikers; collective
bargaining in the public sector; and respect for trade union rights.

With the unions planning to bring workers from around the country to 
Bogota for a massive demonstration on 20 February, and private sector 
workers likely to join the strike, the government gave in to the unions' 
demands.

On 18 February, ministers agreed to pay higher wage increases.
They also agreed to set up a joint commission with trade union leaders to
discuss privatisation, and to revive the Commission for the Revision of 
Penal standards which would study the penal procedures affecting union 
action.

There would be a Commission for the Protection of Workers' Human Rights 
on which the unions would be represented. The Commission would look in 
depth at the violence against trade unionists, and make recommendations to 
ensure that the situation changed and justice was done.

The government also said it would promote the bill on collective bargaining 
in the public sector which was already in the senate and make some 
amendments to it.

In March, the constitutional court ruled that the economic state of emergency
was unjustified and told the government not to go ahead with its measures.

On 12 January, Felix Aviles Arroyo, a member of the teachers' union,
FECODE, was murdered in Cienaga del Oro, Cordoba. Four days earlier on 8
January, Alvaro Taborda, a FECODE member, was abducted in Monteria,
Cordoba. The authorities did nothing to investigate the disappearance. On 28
December, 1996, Pedro Fernando Acosta Uparela, a FECODE member, and his
son were abducted in Galeras, Sucre. They have not been seen since the
abduction and FECODE blamed paramilitary group.

The ANDAT union organised a day of protest in various parts of the city on 6
January after the mayor of Bogota said that the jobs of transit and transport
workers would be taken over by the police. The police assaulted the union
members, injuring Hector Moreno, Edgar Mendez, Cesar Castano, Luis Cruz,
and Janeth Leguisamon. Luz Marina Diaz was detained for a short period of
time together with her small children.

Between 11 February and 7 March, four members of the agricultural workers'
union branch of SINTRAAGRIGOLAS, in Antioquia were murdered on the
Monitos estate in Maceo, Antioquia - Gilberto Casas, Alcides Palacio Casas,
Norbeto Casas and Argiro Betancur.

On 7 March, John Fredy Arboleda, Eladio Chaverra and William Suarez were
murdered on the Monitos estate. They were leaders of the municipal branch 
of
Antioquia, the agricultural workers' union in Maceo.

On 7 March, two unidentified men murdered the general secretary of the
FENSUAGRO agricultural federation, Victor Julio Garzon, in his office in
Bogota.

At the beginning of March, Jorge Eliecer Marin Trujillo, president of the
SINTRAMCHINCHINA municipal workers' union in Chinchina, Caldas,
received threatening telephone calls. On 8 March, the police repeatedly
questioned workers about his whereabouts and a few days later the 
intelligence services were reported to looking for him. In December, 1996 he 
was forced to leave his home after receiving a written death threat was signed 
by MAS - Death to trade unionists.

On 12 March, Nazareno de Jesus Rivera, a trade unionist from Segovia, was
murdered.

On 17 March, Yolanda Rios, an USO member at Ecopetrol in Sabena de Torres
was murdered. USO said in April that around 200 union members had been
forced to leave their homes because of threats; two union leaders were in 
exile; and 17 were in jail on terrorism charges, based on accusations by 
military intelligence.

On 26 March, the public prosecutor threatened to detain eight leaders of the
union in the Tejicondor company, the third biggest textile company in 
Colombia, for falsifying documents and fraud. The company had begun 
persecuting the union in 1984 and finally managed to wipe it out. When the 
union started up again in 1995, the company brought criminal charges against 
the eight union leaders offering as evidence mistakes in the recording of dates 
in the union's minutes. The unionists finally proved their innocence.

The public prosecutor had ignored the case bought by the union against the
company for unfair dismissal of 100 workers while the union was being 
formed.

The national union centre, CUT, said in April that Belisario Restrepo and
Oscar Toro, executive committee members of the FUTRAN union in 
Antioquia had been forced to leave their homes, along with many members 
of the FECODE union. Trade union leaders who had gone into exile included 
Fidel Castro Murillo. Oscar Amaury Aradila of the CUT national executive
committee was detained in Barne jail in Tunja.

On 15 April, a gang of around ten armed men kidnapped Ramon Osorio,
national education secretary of the SINTRAINAGRO agricultural union, and
his son in Medellin, Antioquia. His son was abandoned in the village of 
Carmen de Viboral where he was found on 17 April. There had been 
previous attempts on Osorio's life.

On 19 April, the president of the CGTD union centre, Jose Leitos, was
murdered when he and a member of the CGTD executive committee in the
Cucuta region were attacked.

In April, paramilitary threats of a massacre drove members of the
ASOAGROMISBOL miners' union in south Bolivar, out of their homes. On 
25 April, the paramilitary group, Autodefensas de la Hacienda Bellacruz, 
killed Juan Camacho in front of sixty people, and asked about the 
whereabouts of various miners' leaders in Rioviejo, including Luis Orlando 
Camano Galvis. The group set up headquarters in a nearby farm.

On 20 July, Luis Orlando Camano Galvis was tortured and murdered in
Aguachica, Cesar. In 1996, the army had branded him as a guerrilla
sympathiser after he had negotiated with the government in favour of 
peasantworkers.

Jose Cediel, president of ASOAGROMISBOL had to leave his home because
of paramilitary threats, and Justo Pastor Quiroz, secretary, Roque Leon
Salgado, treasurer, and Bersaly Hurtado were also threatened. The army
commander in the region falsely claimed that guerrillas were behind recent
union protests.

Frieleht Varon, a nurse at the Jose Rufino hospital in Dagua, Valle, and
president of the hospital branch of the SINDESS union in the health and 
social security sector, was abducted on 3 May. She was found dead later that 
night.

On 4 May, the SINTAQUIN union in the chemical sector, said that Alberto
Muneton, a member of the union's executive board, had been murdered. He
had received telephone threats and there had been a previous attempt on his
life.

On 3 June, Sabas Domingo Zocadagui Paredes, a teachers' union leader was
murdered in Arauca after he had made an official complaint in May about
harassment by the security forces.

At the beginning of June, the agricultural workers' union, FENSUAGRO, said
that trade unionists, Pedro Nolasco Presiga, Jose Galvis, Luis Eduardo Loaiza,
Saul Alirio Rincon, Huber Allesteros, Nelson Reina, Jose Luis Guette and
Eberto Dia had received death threats.

On 24 June, there was a bomb attack on the headquarters of the workers' 
union of Leonisa, in Medellin. Several other unions, SINTRATELSA,
SINTRATEXTIL, FEDETEX, as well as the association of families of detained
and disappeared person, had offices in the building. No-one was injured.

In June, the paramilitary death squad, Colsingue - Colombia without 
guerrillas - issued a threat against thirteen leaders of the workers' union,
SINTRAINCAPLA, at Goodyear, the US multinational, in Cali, Valle, on 
paper which bore the Colsingue logo and said "trade unions out of 
Colombia". Those threatened were: Hector Castro, Nelson Amaya, Jairo 
Gallego, Guillermo Dominguez, Ariel Vinasco, Dorian Perez, Jairo Munoz, 
Horacio Cabrera, Julio Perea, Jose Perdomo, Edgar Silvio, Julio Hernandez 
and Victor Ninco.

The union was also threatened by a paramilitary group called MUSIND -
Death to Trade Unionists - which aims to wipe out all trade unionists.

Between May and July, five workers belonging to the agricultural union in
Antioquia, some of them members of the executive committee in Salgar
municipality were murdered. Nestor Correa was killed on the Guadalajara
estate, and Orlando Alvarez, and Jose Araque were murdered on the La
Margarita estate, in Salgar.

German Isaza was killed on 5 June on the La Mundial estate in Maceo, and
Gilberto Casas was killed on the Monitos estate in Maceo. On 5 July, Aurelio
Hernandez disappeared in Maceo, Antioquia.

The SINTRADEPARTAMENTO municipal workers' union in Antioquia said
its leaders and members had been receiving death threats since the union had
presented a list of claims for negotiation to the Governor of the province in
November 1996. Gunmen had fired on the union's headquarters in Medellin
using machine guns, and the union had received telephone death threats. 
Some of the union leaders were followed by unknown people - Martha 
Cecilia Cadavid, Jose Luis Jaramillo Galeano, Rangel Ramos Zapata, the 
union president, Hector de Jesus Giraldo, Jairo Humberto Gutierrez, Luis 
Norberto Restrepo, Jorge Humberto Franco, Horacio Berrio Castano, Alvaro 
Alberto Arango and Oscar Aguirre.

The union said that its office had been under surveillance in June and on 20
June the office and the workers had been filmed. On 26 June, management
offered the union leaders two million Colombian pesos to withdraw their 
claims. In July, there were several attacks on union premises in Medellin, as 
well as threats and harassment.

On 20 April, Fredy Yesid Contreras, a member of the ANTHOC union at the
Sarare Hospital, was murdered after having been threatened by the security
forces.

Hundreds of workers in the department of Antioquia had to leave their 
homes during the year because of paramilitary groups. Some 460 of these 
trade unionists and workers held a 76 day protest meeting outside union
headquarters in Medellin starting on 29 May. On 10 July some of the displaced
workers went to the International Red Cross in Bogota to ask for protection.

The president of CUT, Luis Eduardo Garzon was threatened with death in 
July.

On 12 July, a paramilitary group abducted Misael Pinzon Granados in Puerto
Wilches, Santander. The group, believed to be made up of FARC guerrillas,
had a blacklist which included people from the SINTRAPALMA union in the
palm oil sector. Its members interrupted a meeting between the
SINTRAPALMA and SINTRAINAGRO unions in Puerto Wilches at Puerto
Sogamoso and shouted that they would break up the unions.

On 16 July, the body of Orlando Quiceno Lopez was discovered in Fredonia,
Antioquia, three days after he had been kidnapped. He belonged to the
SUTIMAC union in the building sector, affiliated to CUT.

On 14 July, Eduardo Ramos, a SINTRAINAGRO member, was murdered on
the El Chispero estate in Apartado, Uraba. He belonged to the
union/management committee on the estate. It was the 22nd murder of 
workers in Uraba in 1997.

Mauricio Tapias Llerena and Camilo Suarez Ariza, leaders of FENSUAGRO
were kidnapped by paramilitaries in Cienaga, Magdalena on 18 July. Their
bodies were found on 21 July.

Abel Villa, a member of the mining union in Antioquia was murdered on 21 
July in Amaga. He had been leading a strike which had lasted 128 days.

Guillermo Asprilla, a SINTRAINAGRO member, was killed on 23 July on the
Navarra Villa Sol estate in Apartado, Uraba. He was on the estate
management/union committee. Hired killers murdered Jesus Arley Posada
Escobar, leader of the Cali INPEC association of national prison workers, on
18 July in Cali, Valle del Cauca. The association was in the middle of several
days of protest in support of a wage claim.

On 18 July, Freddy Francisco Fuentes Paternina, a leader of the teachers'
union in Cordoba, Ademacor was killed in Monteria, Cordoba. Other teachers
to be murdered included: Arnold Sanchez Maza, whose body was found in 
the River Sinu on 13 July after being abducted; Abraham Figueroa Bolanos on 
25 July; and Edgar Camacho Bolanos on 25 July.

Atilio Vasquez, disappeared on 28 July in San Juan de Nepomuceno.
Wenceslao Varela Torrecilla in Penon, Bolivar was abducted on 29 July; his
body turned up the next day in the River Magdalena.

On 23 July, Libardo Cuellar Navia, a FECODE member, was murdered in El
Agrado, Huila.

Trade unionist, Magaly Penaranda was murdered on 27 July. He belonged to
the public employees' union in the municipality of Ocana.

On 27 August, the UNEB banking union presented a list of claims to the bank
management in respect of 30 different banks. The management refused to
negotiate on behalf of all 30 banks and forced the union to negotiate
individually with each bank. The union organised marches, demonstrations 
and meetings to back up its demands.

UNEB leaders and members were assaulted, locked in the lifts, and refused
access to the workers and the union leader, Carlos Romero was briefly
detained. Several union leaders received written and telephone death threats.
In Citibank and Andino Bank, the management used the police to keep 
union officials out of the banks. Workers were threatened with dismissal if 
they listened to the union leaders.

Citibank also used riot police to throw union leaders out of the banks. 
Branches in Puente Aranda, Barrio Chico, Barrio Cedritos and were 
particularly repressive, with staff at Avenida Jimenez taking photographs of 
union leaders.

In September, the SINALTRABAVARIA union at Cerveceria Bavaria S.A.,
said that two union members had been detained and others had been beaten 
up by the police. The company had called the police after workers protested at 
the dismissals of 30 workers in a restructuring process which the company 
had refused to discuss with the union.

On 23 September, the woodworkers' union in Darien said that Arimateo 
Allin Gutierrez and Fabio Moreno Moreno had been abducted by an armed 
group  in Uraba.

Domingo Rafael Tovar Arrieta and Jorge Ortega Garcia, members of the CUT
national executive committee, received death threats, and on 27 May, 
Domingo Tovar Arrieta escaped a murder attempt and left the country. He 
returned to Colombia at the end of September and begin to receive death 
threats and harassment. On 8 October an unmarked car followed him, and on 
10 October he received a telephone threat saying that he would die. On the 
same day, a receptionist at CUT offices got the same message, and on 14 
October, his mother too was told he would die.

Members of the executive committee of FUTRAN the federation of workers 
in Antioquia, Amparo Chavarriaga, Jesus Ruiz, Guillermo Cardenas and 
Oswaldo Cuadrado received persistent threats.

Edulfo Zambrano president of the electrical workers' union, SINTRAELECOL
was murdered on 27 October in Barranquilla. He was the second leader of the
union to be killed in 1997. On the same day, a group of workers at Ecopetrol,
the state oil company, was abducted by a group of armed men, including two
members of the USO union, Emiliano Jimenez and Amadeo Jalave Diaz.

During an ICFTU-ORIT trade union mission to Colombia in October, the
Attorney General's office promised to set up a joint committee with trade
unions to follow the trials of unionists charged with sabotage. The 
Commander of the Armed Forces agreed to meet union leaders.

However, the violence went on. Jose Giraldo, secretary of the SINDICONS
construction union was murdered in Medellin on 26 November. The union's
offices had been bombed in 1996.

In December, CUT said that Luisa Fernanda Zaldua Barrantes, president of
the SINTRAFAVIDI public service union, Guillermo Ernesto Tuta Alarcon, 
an adviser to the SINDISTRITALES, SINTRAENERGIA and SINTRAFAVIDI
unions, and Jesus Maria Arias Velez, union leader of UNEB, were on
Colsingue's list and their lives and those of their families were in danger.

The SINTRAMINERGETICA mining and energy workers' union in 
Antioquia and the workers' union at Frontino Gold Mines in Segovia, 
Antioquia, SINTRAFROMINES, held collective bargaining negotiations with 
the Frontino mine management during the year. Three union leaders and 
one worker  were murdered, and union members received repeated death 
threats from paramilitary groups. Ten members of the SINTRAFROMINES 
executive committee had to leave the region as well as 30 union members, 
and five members of the SINTRAMINERGETICA executive committee.

In 1996, the government drew up a bill to repeal or amend some provisions 
of the labour code and said it would submit them to congress in November, 
1996. This resulted from the 1994 signing of a Social Pact on Productivity, 
Prices and Wages when the government had pledged to amend the laws on 
collective bargaining in the public sector, regulations relating to strikes and 
essential public services, and other aspects of the labour law.

The provisions of the law to be amended included: the prohibition on more 
than one union per workplace; the requirements that candidates for office in 
unions, federations or confederations must belong to the relevant trade or 
occupation; the stipulation that to form a union, two-thirds of the 
membership must be Colombian and a candidate for union office must be 
Colombian; the supervision of the internal management and meetings of 
trade unions by public servants; the presence of government officials at trade 
union assemblies called to vote on strikes; denying union officials responsible 
for the dissolution of their union trade union rights for three years; 
prohibitions on confederations and federations calling strikes; and the power 
of the ministry of labour to ballot all workers on going to arbitration after a 
strike has been called.

Although the government submitted the bill to congress, the congress 
shelvedthe bill and the Minister of Labour was reported to be looking at 
alternative strategies.

The government also drafted a bill guaranteeing the rights of collective
bargaining to public employees - this too was shelved by congress.

Current law forbids certain public employees from bargaining collectively. 
They are not protected against acts of anti-union discrimination if they join 
union organisations which include workers in industrial and commercial 
state enterprises. The government said that this provision had been 
overturned by the Supreme Court in November, 1993, although there were 
no reports that the law had been repealed.

Industrial or branch unions must have a membership of at least 50 per cent of
the workers in order to be able to bargain collectively. Federations and
confederations cannot bargain collectively.

The government had also said in 1996 that it had drawn up a bill defining
essential public services and regulating the right to strike in them but there
were no reports that the bill was submitted to congress.

The right to strike is guaranteed in the constitution except in essential public
services which are not specified. However, the labour law severely restricts
strikes in a wide range of public services, which are not necessarily essential,
and allows workers to be sacked for striking. The government can also make
unilateral decisions about what constitutes an essential service, and can 
impose compulsory arbitration to end a strike which has lasted for 60 calendar 
days. Trade union officials involved in an unlawful strike can be dismissed. 
A constitutional court ruling said that the government had the right to end a
strike when it affected the economy.

The authorities can use, and have used, the penal code to punish strikers.
Strikes have been termed acts of "terrorism", "sabotage", "violations of the
right to work", or "illegal restrictions", and carry prison sentences ranging
between two and 20 years.

Colombian labour law was revised in 1990-91 as a result of the country's
structural adjustment programme. The labour market was deregulated, 
making it easier to sack workers, and institutionalising temporary 
employment contracts. It became impossible in practice for many workers to 
belong to unions and to be covered by collective agreements.
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