3 April, 2012IMF affiliates UTRAMMICOL and FETRAMECOL and unions affiliated to the ICEM have agreed to create a single National Manufacturing Industry Union in Colombia.
COLOMBIA. On March 29 in Boyacá, IMF affiliates UTRAMMICOL and FETRAMECOL, and unions affiliated to the ICEM unanimously decided to create a single National Manufacturing Industry Union in Colombia.
The national workshop, one of the Regional Seminars of the Tenth Round of the Trade Union Strengthening Project, was attended by members of the National Unity Council and the project's Regional and Study Circle Coordinators, and agreed to build IndustriALL in Colombia.
The workshop debate on IndustriALL's action programme, which prioritises the formation of national sector unions that are strong and capable enough to negotiate national collective sector and company level agreements, led union leaders to agree to form a single National Manufacturing Industry Union in Columbia.
The process will be led by the National Unity Council, composed of twelve members, including two representatives from each of the three national organisations (UTRAMMICOL, FETRAMECOL and the ICEM Union Council) plus one representative from each of the six main unions of these three organisations. Nohora Stella Tovar will act as coordinator.
The three national organisations signed an agreement last year, agreeing to work towards unity and this has now crystallised in the form of the national manufacturing industry union.
Union leaders, led by Mauricio Castro of SINTRAMETAL/ UTRAMMICOL and Héctor Parra, President of FETRAMECOL, will present a draft political programme, structure and statutes of the new national union within 50 days.
This proposal will be circulated for debate among members and leaders of all the industrial unions concerned and will also be discussed and evaluated in the regional seminars scheduled to take place in June for the more than 75 leaders who have participated in the IMF's Trade Union Strengthening Project and now IndustriALL.
The National Unity Council also defined a timetable for debates to develop ideas, legal solutions and proposals for dealing with issues such as property, collective agreements, membership and trade union forums. This will facilitate the work of turning the current company level unions, national unions and the two federations into a single national union. In June, after internal debates within the three organisations, they will agree a short and medium term timetable to implement this decision and political option.
The IMF believes this is a very important step and congratulates our colleagues for reaching this important decision, which is so favourable for the development of trade unionism in Colombia.