Tripartite contract on permanent ILO concludes in Geneva
06 Jun '06
3 min read
The International Labour Conference (ILC, annual meeting of the ILO) welcomed the tripartite agreement concluded in Geneva, on 1 June, between the three Colombian trade union centres (CUT, CGT, CTC), Colombian employers' representatives and the country's government.
The six-point agreement reached on the second day of the Conference guarantees a permanent ILO presence in Colombia and met with a standing ovation from Conference delegates.
Among the functions to be carried out by the ILO representation in Colombia is the promotion of decent work. It will place emphasis on the defence of the fundamental rights of workers, trade unionists and trade union organisations, and most particularly the right to protection of life, to trade union freedom, freedom of association and expression, collective bargaining, and employers' freedom of enterprise.
The Agreement also provides for the convening of the National Consultation Committee on Social and Wage Policies, and the invitation of the ILO representative to its meetings.
The document signed on also deals with the impunity enjoyed by the murderers of Colombian trade union activists and leaders (over two thousand trade unionists have been killed over the last decade).
The investigations into such murders only very rarely lead to the sentencing of the perpetrators; the ILO has expressed deep concern over this unacceptable impunity.
Under the terms of the agreement, the social partners and the Colombian government also committed to closely observing the findings of a new special investigation unit created by the Attorney General with a view to inquiring into the murders and illegal detentions of trade union leaders and workers.