Colombia not enforcing U.S. trade deal labor standards: unions
Colombia not enforcing U.S. trade deal labor standards: unions
WASHINGTON | By David Lawder
Colombia has failed to enforce worker protections in a free trade agreement with the United States, U.S. and Colombian labor unions said on Monday, raising questions about similar provisions in the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
In a complaint, filed with a division of the U.S. Labor Department, the unions said threats and acts of violence against trade unionists in Colombia were neither properly investigated nor prosecuted.
The AFL-CIO and four Colombian unions said in the complaint that since the U.S.-Colombian trade deal took effect in 2011, some 99 Colombian workers and worker advocates were killed as they tried to exercise their rights. Six workers were kidnapped, and 955 death threats were received, the complaint said.
The unions, including those representing many of Colombia's oil workers and farm workers, also said the Colombian government ignored protections for workers who want to unionize and allowed the rampant use of subcontractors in violation of union contracts.
More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-colombia-trade-labor-idUSKCN0Y71G8
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http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141452606