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14 August, 2005ICEM News release No. 42/2004
The 20-million-member ICEM, the global union federation for the oil, energy, chemical and other sectors, lent its support to Colombian trade unions and civil society organizations at a National Day of Action in defense of labour and human rights. ICEM Gen. Sec. Fred Higgs spoke at a mass rally and demonstration 12 October in Bogota, one of three major protests across Colombia condemning the policies of President Alvaro Uribe Velez.
ICEM's Fred Higgs spoke to Colombian workers in Bogota
(photo by Carlos Bustos)
“These events in Colombia demonstrate the Trade Union Movement’s determination to secure social justice for workers and all citizens,” said Higgs. “Trade unions are one of the few democratic structures in Colombia and the issues today prove the Trade Union Movement can be a force for peace and reconciliation in a country that so badly needs it.”
Some 20,000 workers filled a square in Bogota on 12 October
Higgs promised to Colombian workers they would not be alone in their struggle for social justice. “Trade unionists across the world are conscious of the deaths, death threats and intimidation and harassment of trade union leaders and others in Colombia,” he said. “The ICEM will remain active in Colombia and we will ensure that the struggle for justice and fairness continues to be heard worldwide.”
The rallies coincided with a 24-hour protest strike in which public sector workers shut down government administration, plus education, health care and other public sector services.
All ICEM-affiliated trade unions in Colombia took part in Day of Action events, as did all national union centers. The Trade Union agenda:
* Oppose the re-election of Uribe;
* Oppose legislation that cuts pensions, increases taxes on workers, and reduces money and aid for education and health;
* Oppose security policies that are causing violent human rights abuses;
* Oppose the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, other regional free-trade agreements, and bi-lateral trade agreements with the US;
* Oppose unilateral closure of hospitals, health clinics, and schools;
* Begin the negotiation process to end armed internal conflict and seek humanitarian assistance.
The ICEM, numbering 400 affiliates in 125 countries, has been engaged in Colombian union building and solidarity efforts for the past eight years. The GUF has now launched a Social Dialogue Process among affiliates in Latin America’s most violent nation that has met success coordinating serious dialogue between individual affiliates and global employers.