Teacher trade unionists killed in Colombia every fortnight, says TUC

Solidarity with Colombian trade unions

Teacher trade unionist murdered

4 April 2010

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber has protested to the Colombian Ambassador about yet another teacher trade unionist murdered in Colombia. Duvian Dario Rojo Cadavid and his wife were killed in Puerto Barrio after he had spoken to the media about illegal armed groups extorting money from teachers. He was the sixth teacher trade unionist killed in Colombia in just three months - a rate of one a fortnight in just one branch of Colombian trade unionism - demonstrating that despite what the Colombian government says, the situation is not improving.

Brendan Barber's letter follows.

Dear Ambassador

Assassination of Colombian teacher trade unionist Duvian Dario Rojo Cadavid and his wife

On behalf of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) representing British workers and the 6.5 million members of our affiliated unions I regret that I have to write once again to raise our concerns in the strongest possible terms over the assassination of another trade unionist, Duvian Dario Rojo Cadavid and his wife, in Colombia on 13 March.

Duvian and his wife were enjoying an early evening walk together in the municipal park of their home town of Puerto Berrío when they were shot dead by unknown assailants the day before senatorial elections. According to his local union ADIDA, Rojo Cavidad was targeted generally for his union activism and specifically because the week before he was murdered he spoke to the media about the fact that at least 30 local teachers had been subjected to extortion by illegal armed groups.

The Federación Colombiana de Educadores (FECODE) has publicly denounced these latest killings to a broad range of officials in the Ministries of Education, Justice, Social Protection, the Interior, the Public Defender and the President of the Republic, demanding that the Colombian authorities guarantee free exercise of trade union activities and that they undertake all necessary investigations to break the chain of impunity that typically characterises the murder of teachers and trade unionists.

Your government has gone to great pains to argue that there has been a dramatic fall in the number of trade unionists being assassinated. Tragically the facts on the ground continue to contradict this. Dario is the sixth teacher trade unionist to be killed this year - a rate for just one profession of one a fortnight.

The ongoing killings - which as we have already highlighted this year are continuing to run at the rate of one a week - indicate that contrary to the assurances given by your Government to the international community, little is being done to safeguard the lives of trade union members and activists in Colombia, or investigate and prosecute such murders.

I must again restate our position that until this situation is rectified, the British trade union movement will continue to urge our own Government to end their political and military support for the Colombian Government and oppose the signing of any bilateral trade agreements between the EU and Colombia.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding what measures are being taken to find and prosecute the murderers in these cases.

Yours sincerely

Brendan Barber

General Secretary