trade unionist

Business as Usual for Trade Unionists in the Most Dangerous Place on Earth

The Inter Press Service published an article on July 22nd that describes in some grizzly detail the slaying of Guillermo Rivera, a trade unionist in Colombia who turned up missing some weeks ago. Constanza Vieira writes that witnesses to Rivera’s disappearance noted that he was abducted by state security forces. His body revealed that he had been tortured prior to dying. So far this year, 28 trade unionists have been killed, mostly by the government and its related paramilitary forces. Unfortunately, these facts go largely unnoticed in the U.S. press as the faltering debate continues about the proposed Fair Trade Agreement between the two countries is bandied about by the pro-free trade forces in both countries.

While free trade agreements can be a positive step in economic development, the situation in Colombia demonstrates the need for such agreements to address labor rights concerns as a condition for implement of such agreements.

As was noted in the IPS article, most extrajudicial killings in Colombia go uninvestigated. Virtually none of the killings result in the perpetrators being brought to justice. Implementation of the Colombia FTA will validate the injustice. 

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