FTA fails to protect workers

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/497375.html

By FRED FROST
[email protected]

We are in a recession, and all signs indicate that things will only get worse. So what does President Bush insist upon? A ''free trade agreement'' with a country notorious for rampant human rights and workers' rights abuses.

Never mind that the Bush trade agenda contributed to a trade deficit of $712 billion in 2007. Never mind the loss of three million U.S. manufacturing jobs during the Bush presidency. Never mind that we are losing ground in advanced technology products, autos, even aerospace.

But the Colombia FTA is about more than the failed policies of the past. The issue is murder -- the cold-blooded murder of 39 trade unionists in Colombia last year alone, 17 already this year. The killings are often brutal, meant to intimidate the entire citizenry. Thirty stab wounds. An acid-drenched face.

And for what? For having the temerity to speak up for economic freedom. For pursuing decent wages and benefits to overcome the persistent poverty that faces 55 percent of Colombia's people.

In Colombia, joining a union or advocating for workers' rights can be a de facto death sentence. Under these conditions, workers cannot share in the potential benefits of trade liberalization, regardless of any protections on paper.

The Colombian government has spent well over $1 million to convince the U.S. Congress that it is doing all it can to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice. But the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia reported earlier this year that it has secured convictions in only 68 cases related to violence against trade unionists since 1986 -- a rate of impunity of more than 97 percent. Even more alarming, just more than half of those sentenced are actually in custody.

FULL story at link.