8 February, 2013Workers at Carbones del Cerrejón, represented by their union, Sintracarbón, have begun a strike for improved working conditions. Negotiations failed to reach an agreement and the interim settlement deadline passed without the company making an acceptable offer.
After negotiations ended without an agreement, 98 per cent of Carbones del Cerrejón workers, members of Sintracarbón, voted to go on strike.
Sintracarbón, an IndustriALL affiliate, has been negotiating a list of demands since the end of last year with the transnational companies BHP Billiton, Xstrata and Anglo American.
With more than 50 million members throughout the world, IndustriALL has followed these negotiations, supported the workers and called on the companies to immediately accept their just demands.
On receiving news of the workers’ decision, the IndustriALL National Council in Colombia convened a meeting at the workers’ temporary camp so that affiliated unions could show their solidarity and support for the striking workers. In a video conference, Assistant General Secretary, Fernando Lopes, reaffirmed IndustriALL’s decision at the world level to support the strike.
In addition to calling for improvements in working conditions for directly employed workers at Carbones del Cerrejón, Sintracarbón is leading the fight to extend the freedom of association and the rights to collective bargaining and strike to outsourced workers. It is also helping to organise civic committees to defend the region's water resources and supporting a series of community struggles in Guajira department, in the north of the country.