Myths and Facts on Labor Violence in Colombia

by John Murphy

Rather than just respond to this comment, I thought I would go ahead and take care of some of the other misinformation which is out there.

MYTH: "… the current rate of murders [among labor union members] still places the country in a class of its own." - "Workers’ Rights, Violence and Impunity in Colombia," AFL-CIO, January 9, 2008

FACT: The murder rate among Colombian trade unionists fell to 5 per 100,000 in 2007.  By comparison, the U.S. murder rate was approximately 5.6 per 100,000 last year, and the murder rate in U.S. cities such as Atlanta, Baltimore, and Philadelphia was higher (13, 24, and 14 per 100,000, respectively).  The homicide rate among trade unionists in Colombia is approximately one-seventh the rate among Colombians generally 

MYTH: "The government [of Colombia] has done nothing to effectively stop the death squads … " -Ad by Change to Win, Roll Call, March 12, 2008

FACT: Last year, the Colombian government spent $38 million on a program to provide protection to labor union members and members of other vulnerable groups.  More than 1,900 labor union members receive protection through this extremely successful program.

MYTH: "… Not a single assassin has been brought to justice." -Ad by Change to Win, Roll Call, March 12, 2008

FACT: Since 2001, the Prosecutor General’s office has convicted 156 people in 73 cases involving trade unionists.  With regard to 187 cases identified by Colombia’s labor unions as their top priorities for prosecution, 38 people were convicted in 2007 alone, with many others currently before the judiciary.  The Prosecutor General's office has received a 75% increase in funding over the past five years, allowing it to hire nearly a thousand new prosecutors and investigators.

MYTH: The trade agreement with Colombia "adheres to the same failed NAFTA/CAFTA model which encourages industry to relocate in pursuit of the least stringent environmental and social standards."  - Statement on U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement by Friends of the Earth and the Sierra Club, March 12, 2008

FACT: The U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement includes enforceable labor and environmental protections that emerged from the landmark bipartisan trade deal reached on May 10, 2007.  Democratic leaders praised the inclusion of these protections in the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, and an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress approved that agreement in 2007.  The U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement includes the same exact language to guarantee labor and environmental protections as the agreement with Peru.

//Updated 3 April 2008