Secretary Rice's Meeting with Colombian Anti-TPA

UNCLAS PARTO 020502 (Note: the unique message record number (MRN) has been modified. The original MRN was 08 PARTO 000002, which duplicates a previous PARTO telegram number.) SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT. PLEASE PASS TO USTR, AARON ROSENBERG, AND BENNETT HARMAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OVIP RICE CONDOLEEZZA ETRD ECIN EINV ELAB PGOV, PHUM, PREL, PETER, VE, CO SUBJECT: Secretary Rice's Meeting with Colombian Anti-TPA Labor Leaders ¶1. (U) January 24, 2008; 6:15 p.m.; Medellin, Colombia. ¶2. (SBU) Participants: United States The Secretary Ambassador William R. Brownfield Representative Melissa Bean Representative Eliot Engel Representative Jane Harman Representative Alcee Hastings Representative Ron Klein Representative Rick Larsen Representative Solomon Ortiz Representative Ed Perlmutter Representative David Scott A/S Jeffrey Bergner, H A/S Sean McCormack, PA A/S Thomas Shannon, WHA A/S Daniel Sullivan, EEB S Chief of Staff Brian Gunderson Director of House Affairs Scott Kamins Deputy Executive Secretary Kevin Whitaker Adam Lenert, Embassy Notetaker COLOMBIA Carlos Rodriguez, President of the United Workers' Confederation (CUT) Boris Montes, Assistant Secretary General, CUT William Millan, Deputy Secretary General, General Confederation of Workers (CGT) Ruben Dario Gomez, Deputy Secretary General, Antioquia Division, CGT Apecides Alvis, President, Colombian Confederation of Workers (CTC) Jose Leon Ramirez, Secretary of International Relations, CTC Jose Luciano Sanin, Director, National Unionist School (ENS) ¶3. (SBU) SUMMARY. Colombian trade union officials that oppose the U.S.-Colombian Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) told the Secretary and accompanying Members of Congress that a TPA would increase competition from the United States and endanger domestic industries. They urged the Members not to approve the TPA until Colombia fully guaranteed unions' rights and workers had better contracts and benefits, adding that no changes to the existing TPA would alter their opposition. The Members of Congress said they did not want the TPA "held hostage" by the unions, but they remained concerned about violence and impunity. The Secretary noted that the U.S.-Colombia TPA had the strongest labor protections of any TPA and said the United States would remain committed to ensuring Colombia's compliance. END SUMMARY. -------------- LABOR REPS FEAR U.S. COMPETITION �00A; -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Colombian labor representatives said they oppose the TPA because Colombian industry could not compete with U.S. firms without protection. Rodriguez said it remains costly and time-consuming to transport goods from Bogota and Medellin to seaports for export. He claimed the lack of a national railroad, good highways, and industrial machinery makes it difficult for Colombian producers to compete with U.S. producers. Millan conceded that some sectors of Colombia's economy would benefit from a TPA and that the agreement would phase-in the removal of trade barriers for vulnerable sectors, but predicted its passage would increase U.S. imports to Colombia by 320 percent and result in the loss of thousands of Colombian jobs. -------------- -------------- CONFEDERATIONS CRITICIZE GOC ON SAFE-GUARDS, COMPLIANCE -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Millan said the U.S. Congress should not approve a TPA until Colombia fully guaranteed unions' rights and workers had better benefits. He said the Colombian government had not done enough to protect unionists from violence, prosecute perpetrators of crimes against them, and strengthen the ability of workers to bargain collectively. Sanin complained that labor reforms in 1990, 1992, and 2002 made employment contracts more flexible, resulting in more fixed-term contracts and making it easier for employees to fire workers. He complained these reforms also created a loophole that allowed employers to avoid paying social security and other benefits by contracting with cooperatives instead of directly hiring workers. -------------- VIOLENCE, IMPUNITY REMAIN CONCERNS -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Sanin acknowledged that violence against unionists had fallen sharply, but claimed Colombia remained the most violent country in the world for organized labor. He rejected the Colombian government's findings that the motives in most union murders did not relate to the victim's union activity, but more often resulted from common crime, personal conflicts, or violence between illegal armed groups. Sanin added that the USD 37 million the Colombian government spent on protecting unionists and other vulnerable individuals in 2007 confirmed that they remained at risk in Colombia. ¶7. (SBU) Sanin said he hoped the United States would pressure the Colombian government to take action on four main proposals: 1) reform labor legislation to conform to International Labor Organization standards concerning the rights of workers to organize and to strike; 2) implement a decent minimum wage; 3) promote social dialogue to create strong, legitimate unions; and 4) reinstate the Labor Ministry and ensure its capacity to enforce labor standards. -------------- UNIONS DECLARE OPPOSITION TO TPA INALTERABLE -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Rodriguez said no changes to the TPA or additional assurances from the United States could alter the confederations' opposition. He demanded the complete redrafting of the TPA with extensive input from the unions. Representative Engel commented that the confederations wanted to "hold the TPA hostage" to force the Colombian government to comply with their terms. -------------- U.S. COMMITTED TO ENSURING COMPLIANCE -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Secretary Rice thanked the unionists for their openness. She believed the TPA would promote economic growth while providing an opportunity for social justice in a country emerging from a period of extraordinary civil conflict. She said she shared concerns about ensuring compliance with labor standards and the rights of workers, and agreed that a free labor movement did constitute an important part of democracy. The Secretary told the unionists that the U.S.-Colombia TPA had the strongest labor protections of any TPA the U.S. had signed. She added that re-negotiation of the agreement would not be possible, but said the United States has committed to ensuring that its free-trade partners upheld those provisions and international conventions. RICE