Press Releases

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern met yesterday in Washington with Colombia’s new Minister of Labor, Luis Garzon.  Rep. McGovern has issued the following statement about the meeting:

“I was pleased to meet Minister Garzón, whom I have admired and respected for many years.  We had a wide-ranging discussion about the importance of labor rights to the peace process and how much remains to be done in Colombia to guarantee labor rights and protect workers and labor activists. 

“Like many of my House colleagues, I do not believe the Labor Action Plan has been fulfilled.  While the Ministry of Labor has made several institutional advances, the reality facing workers outside of Bogota remains difficult and often perilous.  Workers attempting to organize and negotiate better working conditions and wages consistently face the threat of violence, including murder, and the loss of their jobs.  Few if any of these murders, assaults, bombings, let alone hundreds of death threats, are fully investigated and prosecuted.  Illegal sub-contracting remains common.  Inspections by the Labor Ministry are infrequent and uneven in quality.  And when sanctions are levied against abusive employers, they are generally ignored.  This continues to be the reality facing the majority of Colombia’s workers, including those in the LAP’s five priority sectors. 

“I am hopeful that the Constitutional Court’s August 20th decision (C-593/20 Agosto 2014) will strengthen the legal framework to put an end to all forms of illegal sub-contracting.  I look forward to continuing to work with President Santos, Labor Minister Garzón, Attorney General Montealegre and National Protection Unit Director Villamizar, as well as their U.S. counterparts in the White House, U.S. Department of Labor, USTR and State Department to ensure that the promises to protect workers and to respect and promote labor rights made in the LAP are truly and genuinely fulfilled.”

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