Colombian Unions Unite Against National Government

Across the board union strike planned for November 21st. (Wikimedia)

Several unions in Colombia have announced a nationwide strike on November 21st to protest against economic and social decisions made by the Colombian government. 

Labor unions plan on marching against the supposed pensional and labor reforms the government aims to implement. According to Semana, the current president, Ivan Duque, contested these claims by stating that his government has not presented labor or pension reforms, and that they would not do so without union involvement. He also highlighted his government’s record for the most significant minimum wage increase in the last 25 years, contradicting the unions’ suggestion that his administration plans to lower it.

According to El Tiempo, public school teachers will also be joining the strike to condemn the assassinations of many union leaders around the country, the deaths of the 18 minors at the hands of the government, and the more than 850 threats teachers have received during 2019. 

Students are another big group joining the movement. According to El Tiempo they will protest against the national government’s failure to fulfill the terms of the agreement made in December 2018, which promised increased resources for public schools around Colombia. 

All three unions have pledged to reject all use of violence: the president of the Central Union of Workers (CUT), Diogenes Orjuela, stated, “our strike committees all over the country have been speaking to the respective authorities to guarantee as best we can that this will be a peaceful protest. Whoever decides to act violently must know that they have the absolute rejection of the strike organizers.”