LATIN AMERICA: UNIONIZED WORKERS AT RISK; THEY FACE FIRINGS, DEATH THREATS AND VIOLENCE FOR DEMANDING RIGHTS.

[The following article is reprinted with the permission of Noticias Aliadas in Lima, Peru. It appeared in the September 14, 2006, edition of Latinamerica Press.]

Latin America is still the world's most dangerous region for union activity, a recent report by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) has found. "The death toll (of union members) was slightly lower in 2005 than the previous year, but we are nevertheless witnessing increasingly severe violence and hostility against working people who stand up for their rights," said Guy Ryder, secretary general of the ICFTU upon the release of the organization's annual report on union rights violations in June.

The ICFTU, which is made up of 241 member organizations worldwide, is represented by the Inter-American Regional Organization of Workers, a 33-member umbrella group representing 45 million workers in 29 countries in Latin America.

Freedom to organize requires struggle throughout region

In 2005, 80 union members were killed in the Americas-- 34 less than 2004--simply for being a union member or defending union rights. Also, 275 union members received death threats, far less than the 456 reported in 2004.

Though the figures could seemingly be considered an improvement, violence against union members is on the rise. According to the report, the number of tortured, assaulted and injured union workers rose from 120 in 2004 to 480 in 2005. The number of workers who were unjustly fired in 2005 increased to close to 1,700, up from 1,000 in the previous year.

Nearly 70% of all union member killings worldwide in 2005 were in Latin America, the report says. Colombia topped the list of union member killings, death threats and acts of intimidations, according to the ICFTU's 2006 Annual Survey on Violations of Trade Unions Rights.

Colombia: inhospitable territory for unions

More than 70 Colombian union members were killed during their efforts to defend labor rights. Another 260 Colombian union members received death threats in a country where impunity for these crimes continue, and where union members are increasingly targeted by armed groups. More than 90% of these crimes have gone unpunished and many of the homicides are not even investigated, the report noted.

"It has come as no surprise to learn that Colombia is still the most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist," the report said. Anti-union violence mainly affected the education sector, thereby raising the...

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