Trade Unions: how is it different in Colombia from the European Union?

No matter if you are in Europe or in Colombia, one thing is certain: workers who belong to trade unions are not well received in any kind of companies; they are even categorized as “trouble”, so most of the times companies prefer to preside of them.

However, there is one big difference between trade unionists in Europe and those in Colombia. More explicitly, in the E.U., trade unions are organizations that seek for the respect of the rights of the employees and their demands are taken into account, avoiding conflict between the company and the parties involved. Nevertheless, this is not the case in Colombia, since trade unionists are chased and even murdered. There is also a popular belief that most of those assassinates are responsibility of the right wing paramilitary groups.

An article posted in the Amnesty International webpage on April 2008 states that “Amnesty International has highlighted how, over the last two decades, the numbers of trade unionists killed have experienced years of dramatic falls followed by large increases. The organization has insisted that a lack of decisive action by successive Colombian governments to end the over 90% impunity in such cases means that there cannot be any guarantee that a fall in figures one year necessarily translates into a sustainable improvement in the human rights situation”1 This means that there is not much cooperation from the government to stop these actions in the country, and therefore the support to these organizations is almost inexistent.

Also, there is another article that states that “The Colombian labor movement has been the target of a campaign of intimidation unparalleled in the contemporary world. More than 3,800 union leaders and activists have been assassinated since the mid 1980's”2 This article, The United States and The War on Trade Unions in Colombia: A Call for Solidarity, explains how ever since its beginnings, the trade unions in Colombia have been chased by armed groups, and how it is almost impossible to count with a decent protection from the government.

Therefore, it is not a surprise that trade unions are tending to disappear in Colombia, even some are resisting to its total end; in which it is possible to recall: Central Union of Workers, Confederation of Workers of Colombia, Corriente de Integracion Sindical, General Confederation of Democratic Workers, SINALTRAINAL.3.
However, the dissolution of those organizations is not only a Colombian phenomenon, but it is also happening in the E.U., like the Federation of European Employers (FedEE) explains: “Over the last twenty years there has been a widespread decline in trade union membership throughout most of western Europe. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, unionisation in many eastern European states has collapsed at an even more dramatic rate… FedEE estimates that, in the medium term, the average level of unionisation across the EU will fall even further - from 26.3% today to just under 20% by 2010”4.

Finally, I believe that trade unionist need to find a way to make themselves be heard by the big corporations without using the violence. Maybe, the perception towards them could change in a positive way, especially in Colombia, if their approach is a little more rational than passional. Otherwise, this wave of violence and rejection towards them will not change, even with the government’s help.

Reference
1. (April 2008) Killings of trade unionists on the rise in Colombia. Retrieved on April 22nd, 2010 in Amnesty International from: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/feature-stories/killings-trade-unionists-rise-colombia-20080430
2. Rayner, J. The United States and The War on Trade Unions in Colombia: A Call for Solidarit. Retrieved on April 22nd, 2010 in International Labor Relations, from: http://henningcenter.berkeley.edu/gateway/colombia.html
3. Trade unions of Colombia. Retrieved on April 22nd, 2010 in mundoandino.com, from: http://www.mundoandino.com/Category/Trade-unions-of-Colombia
4. Trade unions across Europe. Retrieved on April 22nd, 2010 in Federation of European Employers, from: http://www.fedee.com/tradeunions.html