DOL Report Highlights Concerns About Colombia's Efforts at Meeting FTA Labor Obligations
The Labor Department Office of Trade and Labor Affairs (OTLA) recommended that the U.S. enter bilateral consultations regarding concerns that Colombia is running delays in its labor inspection process, among other issues cited in a DOL trade compliance report (here). OTLA released a report Jan. 11 citing concerns about Colombia’s upholding of obligations under its trade deal with the U.S. In it, the OTLA identifies specific concerns with regard to the Colombian Labor Inspectorate’s ability to ensure that Colombian businesses treat collective bargainers fairly, particularly as the situation pertains to the inspectorate’s ability to travel to rural areas, high staff turnover, inconsistency of national strategy, and a lack of a systematic collection of fines related to collective bargaining and free association rights. AFL-CIO and five Colombian labor organizations on May 16 petitioned the OTLA under the labor and dispute settlement chapters of the Colombia-U.S. Trade Promotion Agreement, claiming the Colombian government had not complied with labor obligations under the agreement (see 1605170036).
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The report recommends that the government of Colombia ensure labor law inspections comply with legal procedures and timelines and are done according to a national strategy targeting at-risk sectors, and that the government collect fines from labor law violators more quickly, take additional measures to prevent subcontracting abuse and improve the investigation and prosecution of cases of violence and threats against unionists. “Today’s report highlights that Colombia is not living up to its labor obligations in the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement and calls for initial consultations between our governments,” House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Richard Neal, D-Mass., said in a statement (here). “This is an important step in addressing Colombia’s failure to satisfy its obligations, but the onus is now on President-elect Trump to ensure that these consultations lead to meaningful results for American workers.”