The AFL-CIO, along with labor and human rights advocates from around the world, opposed the United States-Colombia Trade Agreement, arguing that Colombia was not an appropriate trade agreement partner because of its history of denying workers' rights. The struggle at Claro provides a recent example that freedom of association and the right to collectively bargain continue to be denied.   

In Colombia, the telecom company Claro is refusing to negotiate in good faith with the union United Claro and ICT Workers (“Unión de Trabajadores de Claro y las TIC”). While the company is “in negotiation” with the workers currently, Yuli Higuera Nieto, president of the union, reported to the Escuela Nacional Sindical (Nation Union School, or ENS) that Claro has refused to negotiate the workers’ list of demands. Instead, the company has limited itself to reading the demands and allowing the period stipulated by the law for negotiation to run out. That negotiating period came to a close on July 23. Claro has said it will only accept a salary and benefits increase equivalent to the country’s Consumer Price Index’s increase between June and July of 4.25%. Higuera called this “laughable.”

High on the union’s list of demands is reform of the arbitrary system of sales quotas that Claro imposes on its workers, quotas that continue to increase. Workers receive a base salary, but must reach 21 sales per month in order to earn another 300 thousand pesos (approximately $159 USD). If workers fail to meet their 21-sale quota per month, they do not receive that additional money. Furthermore, not meeting the quota for two months semi-annually is cause for being laid off. The system is even worse for those Claro’s workers who are subcontracted through a third party. While these contracted workers do the same labor, they do not have a minimum salary and their earnings depend entirely on their number of sales. Even worse, if they do not reach a minimum number of sales, they do not earn health benefits or have employer-provided uniforms.

The Ministry of Labor’s interventions have been minimal and have not been able to put an end to the subcontracting of labor used to circumvent workers’ rights. Claro appears to be perfectly willing to pay the fines that the ministry has imposed and continue with the same unjust labor practices. Recently, Claro paid 42 million pesos for having fired 16 workers affiliated with the union, all of whom are now working again by judicial order. But as Higuera pointed out, 42 million pesos is small money for a company that has 2 billion pesos profits annually.

Trade unionists in Colombia continue to risk their lives by committing themselves to organizing for better wages, benefits and job security. Until the right to organize is protected in Colombia, the U.S. Colombia Trade Agreement will, as AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said, put “commercial interests above the interests of workers and their trade unions.”  Read more about the U.S. Colombia Free Trade Agreement here.