US-Colombia FTA still waiting for unionist violence to be addressed
US-Colombia FTA still waiting for unionist violence to be addressed
Tuesday, 14 February 2012 06:17
Miriam Wells
The United States said Monday Colombia had not yet met its obligations to protect labor unionists required for the Free Trade Agreement to come into effect.
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The U.S.-Colombia FTA endured years of delay before being signed, due to Congressional concerns about labor rights in the Andean nation, which has long been one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a trade unionist. Colombia agreed to implement an action plan establishing benchmarks and timetables to strengthen labor laws and protect unionists -- but murders continue.
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The action plan signed last April saw Colombia promise to take measures against the threatening and killing of unionists, prosecute suspected murderers of labor rights activists and take measures to combat the exploitation of laborers.
But dozens of trade unionists were still murdered in 2011 -- Colombian unions say 51, the government says 30 -- and several more have been killed in 2012.
More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/22186-us-colombia-fta-still-waiting-for-unionist-violence-to-be-addressed.html