Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Colombia (Ratification: 1976)

The Committee notes the Tripartite Agreement for the Right of Association and Democracy concluded by the Government and the representatives of employers and workers in Geneva in the context of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, on 1 June 2006. The Committee notes the Government’s observations in reply to the comments made by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the World Confederation of Labour (WCL), dated 31 August and 7 September 2005, and the Single Confederation of Workers (CUT), the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and the Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CTC) of 7 and 14 June, 31 August and 7 September 2005, which refer to issues already raised by the Committee in its 2005 observation.

The Committee also notes the reports of the Committee on Freedom of Association on the various cases under examination concerning Colombia, adopted at its sessions in March, June and November 2006. In particular, the Committee notes Case No. 1787, relating to acts of violence against trade union officials and members, which include murders, kidnappings, attempted murders, disappearances and the situation of impunity affecting the country.

The Committee further notes the comments of the ICFTU of 10 August 2006, and the joint comments of the CUT, CGT, CTC and the Confederation of Pensioners of Colombia (CPC), of 16 June 2006, referring to pending issues relating to the legislation and the application of the Convention in practice which are under examination, and particularly to acts of violence against trade union leaders and members, and the grave situation of impunity. In this respect, the ICFTU indicates that in 2005 there were 70 murders, 260 death threats, 56 cases of arbitrary detention, seven attempted murders, three disappearances and eight forced relocations. The Committee recalls the interdependence between civil liberties and trade union rights and emphasizes that a truly free and independent trade union movement can only develop in a climate of respect for fundamental human rights (see 1994 General Survey on freedom of association and collective bargaining, paragraph. 26) and that employers’ and workers’ organizations can only exercise their activities freely and meaningfully in a climate that is free from violence. The Committee requests the Government to provide its observations in this respect.

Finally, in relation to the comments of the Union of Maritime and Inland Water Transport Industry Workers (UNIMAR), of 30 May 2006, relating to a situation where a company has been liquidated in disregard of the trade union immunity of trade union leaders, the Committee requests the organizations concerned and the Government to examine the possibility of finding a solution to the dispute in the context of the recently concluded Tripartite Agreement, which includes a commitment to convene the National Commission on Wages and Labour Policies.

The Committee proposes, in accordance with the regular reporting cycle, to examine at its next session in November-December 2007 all the matters relating to the legislation and the application of the Convention in practice raised in its previous observation in 2005 (see 2005 observation, 76th Session).

The Committee hopes that the recently adopted Tripartite Agreement will be implemented in the near future and that, in the context of this Agreement, serious problems in respect of the freedom of association which the Committee has been raising for numerous years will be examined.