Drummond attacks trade unions in Colombia

Solidarity with unions in Colombia

Drummond mining company

18 January 2010

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber has written to the Colombian Ambassador to protest about the behaviour of the Drummond mining company, which is in the process of sacking the Executive Committee of the union at its mine in Colombia.

Letter to HE Mauricio Rodriguez, Ambassador, Embassy of Colombia, 3 Hans Crescent, London SW1X 0LN

Drummond in Colombia

I am writing to express my grave concern over the recent actions carried out by the Drummond mining company against the union leaders at its Colombian facilities and to ask you to urge your Government to take action to protect the union leaders.

Not long after a Colombian Supreme Court decision declaring 'illegal' the March 2009 strike of SINTRAMIENERGETICA members (a strike that was carried out in protest at the death of a fellow worker in a workplace accident), Drummond fired 15 members of the union's Executive Committee and has threatened to fire the 20 remaining members. In effect this will result in the elimination of the union at Drummond.

The TUC, along with our colleagues in the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) in Colombia, is greatly alarmed by this situation. First, we share the view of the CUT and SINTRAMIENERGETICA that the Colombian Supreme Court's decision, referenced above, was out of keeping with Colombian domestic law protecting the right of workers to strike. And we are certain that this decision was in violation of ILO Conventions 87 and 98 which also protect the right to strike. For Drummond to attempt to capitalise on this flawed decision to rid itself of the union is simply unacceptable.

We therefore call upon your Government to enforce its own labour laws as well as the ILO Conventions guaranteeing the rights of workers to strike. And, specifically, we call upon the Colombian Government to invalidate the firing of Drummond's union leaders, to require their reinstatement and to admonish Drummond for this anti-union conduct. We further call upon the Colombian Government to ensure that Drummond, which has so far experienced 16 workplace fatalities in its Colombian plants, guarantee a safe and healthy work environment for all of its workers.

I should also like to make it clear that failure to act in this case will do nothing to strengthen the Colombian Government's efforts to secure a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union - an Agreement that trade unions around Europe will continue to oppose so long as Colombian trade unionists continue to be, as in this case, so flagrantly maltreated.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

BRENDAN BARBER

General Secretary