RECENT LABOR DEVELOPMENTS

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000436

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT. PLEASE PASS TO USTR FOR BENNETT HARMON AND LEWIS
KARESH; PLEASE ALSO PASS TO DEPT. OF LABOR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ETRD PGOV CO
SUBJECT: RECENT LABOR DEVELOPMENTS

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SUMMARY
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1. The GOC announced a 6.29 minimum wage increase on December
27, from 192 USD (408,000 pesos) to 205 USD (433,700 pesos).
On the same day, President Uribe issued a decree aimed at
limiting the use of workers' cooperatives as a form of labor
contracting and vowed to combat those temporary contracts
used to undermine permanent employment. The Constitutional
Court also issued a ruling strengthening a workplace
harassment law passed in January 2006. Trade unionist
homicides increased in 2006, but the GOC's Protection Program
continues to provide protection measures for over 1,200 trade
unionists. In addition, the GOC recently dedicated almost
100 prosecutory and investigative personnel to cases
involving violence against trade unionists. End Summary.

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GOC INCREASES MINIMUM WAGE BY 6.29 PERCENT
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2. On December 27, the GOC announced a 6.29 percent minimum
wage increase, from 192 USD (408,000 pesos) to 205 USD
(433,700 pesos). The GOC also raised the transportation
subsidy 6.5 percent from 22 USD (47,000 pesos) to 24 USD
(50,800 pesos),for a total minimum wage package increase of
6.32 percent. The increase will affect approximately 4.5
million Colombian workers. The GOC, employer associations,
and the presidents of the trade confederations normally
negotiate the minimum wage annually through the tripartite
Commission of Settlement for Labor Policy and Wages (CNC),
but the GOC set the minimum wage by decree after talks broke
down on December 18. The Central Bank expects inflation to
be around 4 percent in 2007. In addition to wages, the
minimum wage is important because it affects pensions and
fines for workplace violations.

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GOC ISSUES DECREE TO REIGN IN WORKER'S COOPERATIVES
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3. In a move aimed at strengthening workers rights, the GOC
issued a decree on December 27 to limit the use of workers'
cooperatives as a form of labor contracting. A 1998 law
created workers' cooperatives with the goal of encouraging
entrepreneurship by stimulating the association of people
collectively offering goods or services through pooled
resources. However, many employers were accused of abusing
the system to the point that even legitimate cooperatives
were given a bad reputation. The decree explicitly prohibits
the use of cooperatives as labor subcontractors by stating
that its members must act as their own managers, make
economic contributions to the organization, and have
ownership over the means of production. The decree also
raised the maximum fine for illegal cooperatives from 8,000
USD (20 million pesos) to 47,000 USD (100 million pesos) and
limits their legal operating status to that of nonprofit.

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URIBE ANNOUNCES "WAR" AGAINST BAD FAITH TEMPORARY CONTRACTS
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4. On December 27, President Uribe announced a "full-scale
war" against "fictitious" temporary labor contracts,
explaining that one of his priorities in 2007 will be to
combat the use of temporary contracts to undermine permanent
employment. "We need to admit that there are circumstances
when temporary contracts are necessary, such as seasonal work
and extraordinary situations, but we need to eliminate
temporary employment when it is used to substitute for
permanent employment," he explained. Uribe also ordered the
Ministry of Social Protection (MSP) to assume responsibility
for developing a policy against bad faith temporary
contracts. Temporary workers receive fewer benefits and
protections than permanent workers.

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CONSTITUTIONAL COURT STRENGTHENS WORKPLACE HARASSMENT LAW
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5. The Constitutional Court ruled that neither family
relationships nor bonds of affection constituted extenuating
circumstances with regard to workplace harassment, reversing
a provision set forth in Law 1010, signed in January 2006.
The Court also said violators of the law could be punished
with incarceration. The law originally identified various
forms of workplace harassment and set sanctions for
violations, but had established family relationships and/or
bonds of affection between the harasser and the harassed as
factors that could reduce punishment. In eliminating family
ties and bonds of affection as extenuating factors, the Court
explained, "It is not possible to separate the right to work
from the right to human dignity." The Court, responding to
an Inspector General-supported petition to modify Law 1010,
went one step further and ruled that "aggravated" workplace
harassment was subject to Colombian penal code, violations of
which are punishable with up to two years in prison.

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MORE TRADE UNIONIST HOMICIDES IN 2006
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6. In spite of an increase in homicides in 2006, the GOC
continues to demonstrate a commitment to combat violence
against trade unionists and investigate crimes against them.
The MSP reports 25 trade unionist homicides in 2006, up from
14 in 2005, and 33 killings of unionized teachers, an
increase from 26 in 2005. Of these 58 total killings of
unionized workers, the MSP reports that 11 involved
individuals in leadership positions.


7. The GOC's Protection Program provides protective measures
to over 1,200 trade unionists. In addition, in October 2006,
the GOC implemented a 1.5 million USD program dedicating
almost 100 investigative and prosecutory personnel to
approximately 150 cases of violence against trade unionists.
These personnel are divided into 13 specialized teams
consisting of one prosecutor, three Investigative Body (CTI)
investigators, and three national police officers. The cases
to be investigated were selected by the three trade
confederations.
WOOD