31 July, 201428 July was a special day for Colombian workers, who renewed their commitment to the welfare of outsourced workers. The commemoration took the form of a national meeting to promote the formal sector and combat outsourcing.
The meeting was attended by 120 representatives of the trade union centres CUT and the CTC, the Colombian sections of the GUFs (IUF, UNI, BWI, ITF, EI, IndustriALL and PSI), the FNV Colombia Country Programme, the Mining and Energy Sector Trade Union Unity Committee (CUSME) and its member unions and a Swedish delegation led by the Mayor of Trollhättan. It analysed the broad lines of a draft bill to be presented to a group of senators for their consideration, and which could serve as a rallying point for a campaign to pass legislation against outsourcing, a practice that impoverishes workers and does not provide decent work.
The president of the CTC, Miguel Morantes, highlighted the significance of the date chosen for the day of action. It was on 28 July 1983, thirty-one years ago, that approximately 200 outsourced workers were buried in a tragic accident as they were engaged in the construction of an access tunnel for the country’s biggest hydro-electricity generating plant, in the municipality of Ubalá (Cundinamarca), in the region of Guavio. Although workers had warned that geological fault lines could cause such a tragedy, the engineers and their managers paid no heed to them. This kind of accident almost always happens precisely because of the complete lack of protection for this type of precarious worker. That is the significance of choosing this day as the day of action against outsourcing. The dam is now operated by the multinational company ENEL-ENDESA, whose employees are members of SINTRAELECOL, which is affiliated to IndustriALL and the CUT.
Fabio Arias, CUT general secretary, welcomed participants, expressed his wish for a successful event and welcomed the representatives of the Columbia sections of the GUFs, the Swedish delegation and the FNV’s Colombia Country Programme.
In a series of panels, representatives of trade unions and support centres presented their views on the central issue. Paul Akerlund’s speech deserves a special mention. He explained how the Swedish trade union movement had succeeded in controlling the harmful effects of outsourcing by actively working with outsourced workers to bring their wages and benefits up to the level enjoyed by directly-employed workers. Outsourcing only takes place on an occasional basis and workers are paid at a level that allows it to be classified as decent work.
The meeting approved a declaration, which will be distributed to the media in the next few days. It calls on the main sector unions to try to recruit outsourced workers and for the trade union movement to remain active in promoting formal employment in every possible way, whether through legislative means, collective agreements or direct industrial action.