Final Evaluation Report 
PROJECT #: 
AID-514-A-09-00002 
COUNTRY/PROJECT NAME: 
Colombia Trade Union Strengthening 
DATE SUBMITTED: 
May 1, 2011 
Contact: Rhett Doumitt 
III. PROJECT 
DURATION: 
February 5, 2009 – 
February 4, 2012
REPORTING PERIOD: 
February 5, 2009 – 
February 4, 2012
I. Background 
In recent years the Government of Colombia has undertaken a number of initiatives to address 
the protection of basic worker rights, including the protection of trade unionists from threats and 
violence. In addition, as part of a tripartite agreement reached in 2006 at the International Labor 
Organization (ILO) annual conference, the ILO opened a permanent representation office in 
Bogotá. This office is currently carrying out several technical cooperation projects aimed at 
promoting decent work and the defense of fundamental rights. Finally, workers, employers, and 
government representatives have formed two tripartite commissions to promote social dialogue 
and address key topics in the country’s labor relations system. 
Despite these steps and the overall increase in awareness of the critical role that unions play in 
strengthening democracy and the rule of law, trade unionism in Colombia has reached an all￾time low in membership rates and levels of collective bargaining coverage. Today in Colombia, 
only a small fraction of the economically active population is able to organize or join a union and 
bargain collectively. This is due to dramatic shifts in the employment arrangements used to 
regulate employer-management relationships. Of the roughly 18 million workers in the country, 
about eight million receive some form of salary. Approximately half of these salaried employees 
have a formal labor contract (rather than a civil, commercial, or other non-labor contract). And 
of those with labor contracts, only 1.8 to 2.0 million workers enjoy full-time, permanent 
contracts (while about 2.3 million workers labor under temporary contracts). Although both 
workers employed under formal, full-time contracts and direct fixed-term contacts are regulated 
through labor law and are legally allowed to join a union, the reality is that only about two 
million Colombian workers can actually exercise their right to freedom of association. The 
majority of these are public employees who, though unionized, are not permitted to bargain over 
working conditions with their employer.1
 Further, union density has declined to a low of around 
4.5%, and the number of workers covered under new collective bargaining agreements has fallen 
from 260,000 to 60,000 in the past 10 years.2
The majority of workers in Colombia are hired under flexible, temporary or fixed-term contracts 
or through service cooperatives where there is no union representation. Young people (under 30) 
 
1 Interview with economist Ricardo Bonilla, Center for Development Research, National University. 2
 Los derechos laborales y las libertades sindicales en Colombia: Evaluación y propuestas para el desarrollo del acuerdo tripartite, eds. CUT, 
CGT, and CTC (Medellín: Escuela Nacional Sindical. 2007) 82, 76. Data originally compiled by the National Administrative Department for 
Statistics and the Ministry of Social Protection. 
and women workers occupy jobs in the fastest growing sectors of the economy where such 
arrangements predominate. Because they are hired under these types of flexible arrangements, 
where union participation is greatly limited, the vast majority have little or no experience in 
union activity, workplace democracy, or representation of their interests through collective 
decision-making processes. Unions in Colombia have begun to recognize the need to restructure 
to build organizations that can represent a broad majority of the workforce and respond to the 
concerns that new groups of workers have at the workplace, industry, and public policy levels. 
Several unions have begun to recognize that economic and industry shifts require them to adapt 
their organizing strategies, methodologies and their approaches to collective bargaining and 
dispute resolution to address issues relevant to a broad majority of workers in the sector. 
The Solidarity Center (SC) program in Colombia will support the rebuilding of Colombian 
unions as a fundamental pillar of justice and participation by strengthening unions’ capacity to 
involve workers democratically at their workplaces and in broader economic and policy arenas. 
In order to build trade unions’ ability to represent workers both at the workplace and the political 
front, union leaders and a new generation of activists must improve their skills in the 
fundamental functions of organizing and collective bargaining. They need to adopt new 
strategies and methods to cope with the changes that economic modernization and public sector 
reform have brought about. New tactics, such as using neutrality agreements to extend 
representation, as well as new subjects for collective bargaining, such as extending 
representation to new categories of workers, securing health care and pension benefits, and 
achieving gender equality, need to be incorporated into union platforms so unions can better 
represent their members. 
Tackling this broad set of issues requires a core group of emerging Colombian trade union 
leaders, with a mandate from their national unions, to undertake development of new strategies 
for organizing and collective bargaining by sector, industry, work activity, or employment status. 
To this end the SC will focus on three areas of union building: 1) organizational development, 2) 
promoting an enabling legal environment, and 3) skills development for union leaders and 
members in fundamental union functions. These three areas of activities are mutually 
reinforcing and should be implemented simultaneously in order to ensure sustainability of 
internal union practices, the relevance of these practices to organizing more workers into solid 
organizations, and to ensure maximum relevance and effectiveness of labor’s policy advocacy 
efforts. The proposed program will be implemented over a three-year period. Program activities 
have been designed to evolve as new capacities are developed and milestones/indicators are 
reached. 
II. Progress on Objectives 
Objective 1: To build the capacity of Colombian unions to develop and implement new 
organizing, union restructuring, and collective bargaining strategies for inclusion of a greater 
number of workers, including workers employed under flexible hiring arrangements. 
Results and Outcomes 
1.1 Unions or federations in at least two economic sectors restructured from workplace￾based unions into sector or industry wide organizations, representing a broad base of 
workers across the sector. 
Artisan Sector 
On September 3-5, 2009, 250 regional organizations of artisan workers held the founding 
congress of the National Federation of Artisan Workers of Colombia FNTAC, affiliated to the 
Confederación General de Trabajadores (General Workers’ Confederation, or CGT). Four 
hundred delegates participated, as well as the Vice Minister of Labor and several regional 
congressional representatives. (Also applies to RO1.2) 
Palm Sector 
In the third quarter of 2010, three existing palm sector unions in the Magdalena Medio region—
Sintrapalma, Sintraproaceites and Sintrainagro—formed a regional coordinating body for 
organizing palm workers and improving working conditions on the palm plantations in the 
region. The coordinating body decided to focus on formalizing subcontracted workers with 
direct labor contracts with employers as a central theme in their respective efforts and collective 
bargaining processes. 
Public Sector 
On October 8, 2011, Sinalserpub (National Public Service Union) and eight public sector unions 
held a unification congress and voted to unify into a single national union. The new national 
public sector union, SUNET, is the product of a two-year organizing process and is now the 
largest union in the sector. 
1.2 New union branches created in at least three economic sectors representing workers 
employed under flexible hiring arrangements. 
Public Sector 
In the second quarter of 2010, a new union was formed in the public sector by workers 
subcontracted under service order contracts (known as OPS). The union, ASODISOPS, was 
formed by workers in the District of Bogotá agencies to represent workers who cannot join a 
union under present law. The focus of the union is advocacy for the transition from massive sub￾contracting using temporary civil contracts to formal labor contracts in the public sector. 
In the third and fourth quarters of 2010, four new union branches of the national public sector 
union, Sinalserpub, were founded in Bucaramanga, Barrancabermeja and Velez, Santander, and 
in Bolívar, representing a total of 800 workers. 
In the fourth quarter of 2010, a new branch of the national union, Metrovivienda, was formed in 
Bogotá, representing 250 workers. The new local branch in the Metrovivienda successfully 
negotiated its first collective bargaining contract covering workers that were previously 
excluded, improving working conditions and pay. (Also applies to RO1.3) 
Ports Sector 
In 2009, the national port workers’ union, Union Portuaria (UP), was formed, founding chapters 
in the four most important ports in the country: July 26, 2009, in Cartagena with 102 
participants; September 1, 2009 in Barranquilla with 80 participants; November 22, 2009 in 
Buenaventura, with 124 participants; and on October 28, 2009 in Santa Marta, with 127 
participants. All four processes followed a series of organizing and training activities conducted 
by the SC, the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (Unitary Workers’ Center, or CUT) and key 
ports leaders. The national union initiated with some 500 members nationally. Within two 
years, the UP increased membership to approximately 2,000 members. In February 2012, the UP 
established a new chapter in the banana and plantain port in Turbo, Antioquia. The new chapter 
was formed with some 400 new members. 
1.3 New clauses in collective bargaining agreements or other labor-management 
negotiations negotiated by union partners in at least three economic sectors to address the 
concerns of workers employed under flexible hiring arrangements. 
Ports Sector 
In the first three quarters of 2010 the national port workers union, UP, developed a national 
bargaining proposal, approved by membership in the four locals, for presentation to the 
government and ports operators. The proposal focused on formalizing the thousands of ports jobs 
that are subcontracted through a variety of fraudulent contracting arrangements. The proposal not 
only set the stage for future negotiations in the sector, but also formed the basis for wider 
advocacy to formalize work, and contributed to the broader political debate regarding improving 
labor rights standards in the country. 
In the first quarter of 2011, machine operators in the El Bosque pier in Cartagena staged a work 
action, demanding compliance with contracting and social security laws. In response to calls 
from the UP, the Ministry of Social Protection (MSP) sent a high-level team to Cartagena to 
negotiate a settlement with the workers and the employers. The negotiations concluded with a 
commitment on the part of the MSP to conduct inspections of the contracting conditions, and 
compliance with social security payments. Employers agreed to abide by the findings of the 
inspections. The results of this first experience were mixed, because the MSP turned out to be 
unequipped to inspect contracting arrangements. The implicated employers began to pay the 
workers’ social security as a result. 
In the third quarter of 2011, the UP expanded its proposed plan for formalizing work in the ports 
to incorporate labor subcontractors into the formal production chain (if labor subcontractors are 
eliminated, then the primary employers will need experienced labor managers to assume their 
function). As a result of the UP outreach, a growing number of labor subcontractors are meeting 
with the UP to explore incorporation into the initiative. In Buenaventura, the subcontracting 
company Corporación de Operadores Portuarios del Pacifico, S.A. joined with the UP to seek 
inclusion in the process of formalization in Buenaventura (Also applies to RO 3.1) 
In January 2012, the UP-Buenaventura, representing 180 machine operators, negotiated the first 
agreement directly with ports employers (rather than subcontracting intermediaries). The parties 
agreed to the immediate direct hiring of 90 workers, and improved contracts and gradual 
transition from subcontracted to direct contracts for the remaining 90 workers. 
Palm Sector 
In the second quarter of 2011, the palm union, Sintrainago in Las Minas, Magdalena Medio, 
negotiated an agreement establishing a quota of permanent contracts for 140 of the 700 workers 
on the palm plantation. 
In the second quarter of 2011, palm workers in Meta organized in Sintraimagra on the Manuelita 
plantation presented a plan for transitioning hundreds of workers contracted through CTA 
cooperatives to legal, direct labor contracts. The proposal is based on the prescriptions of Decree 
2025 that eliminates the use of CTA cooperatives for labor intermediation. The company has 
agreed to the transition, but it is still unclear what form of contracting it will establish. 
In the fourth quarter of 2011, Sintrainagro-Puerto Wilches, presented an initiative to formalize 
labor for 4,000 palm workers on some ten plantations in the area of Puerto Wilches. The 
initiative is also based on the prescriptions of Decree 2025 and Article 63 of Law 1429. The 
workers’ initiative to apply the new laws led to a regional labor conflict. The Vice President’s 
office brokered a negotiation between the employers’ association and the union establishing an 
agreement, signed by the Vice President, the Minister of Social Protection, and the Vice Minister 
of Labor Relations. The agreement sets out conditions to formalize contracting in the sector 
regionally, and directs the Ministry of Social Protection to conduct inspections and apply the 
laws. That process has led to the first applications of the new laws, with two important 
employers receiving sanctions. The sanctions will be commuted upon compliance with the law, 
eliminating fraudulent subcontracting. The process is not yet completed, and workers remain 
vigilant as the process continues. 
Objective 2: To build the capacity of Colombian trade unionists to develop technically sound 
proposals for legal reforms that allow union representation for workers hired under flexible 
hiring arrangements and permit union representation by economic sector at the regional and 
national levels. 
Results and Outcomes 
2.1 At least one legal reform proposal containing greater protections for exercise of labor 
rights for a broader section of the Colombian workforce adopted through legislative or 
administrative processes. 
General 
In the fourth quarter of 2010, two of the three national union centers (CUT and CTC) developed 
a political proposal for priority legal reforms for protecting fundamental labor rights and 
presented them to the ILO high-level mission that visited Colombia in February 2011. The 
proposal represents the fundamental labor reform platform of the labor movement, much of 
which was later presented as part of the Obama-Santos Labor Action Plan. 
In the second quarter of 2011, the three labor centers provided analysis and language for the draft 
decree for the creation of the new Ministry of Labor. While the process was not public, drafters 
of the decree were in contact and consultation with the labor sector. The national labor centers, 
the National Union School, and the SC collaborated closely to provide detailed technical input 
regarding the structure and functions of the proposed new ministry, and many were incorporated 
into the draft decree. 
Public Sector 
In the first and second quarters of 2011, three national labor centers and the public sector unions 
negotiated with the Government of Colombia on the draft decree which will regulate Article 16 
of the labor code, regulating collective bargaining in the public sector, and derogate Decree 535 
of 2009. The new decree represents an important advance in the rights of association and 
collective bargaining for public employees. On May 25, 2011 the Colombian president and the 
labor sector, represented by the three national labor centers, signed an accord supporting the draft 
decree. The decree now awaits the President’s signature to become law. 
Ports Sector 
In the third quarter of 2010, the national port workers union (UP) developed a proposal for 
formalizing labor in the ports sector. The UP undertook an advocacy strategy, holding a series of 
meetings with Colombian Vice President Angelino Garzón, the Vice Minister of the MSP, 
political party leaders (including Liberal Party leader, Rafael Pardo), representatives in 
Parliament, USG and Congressional delegations, and national union confederation leaders to 
advance proposed administrative and legal reforms to formalize work in the ports sector. The 
Vice President expressed his support for eliminating service cooperatives in the ports, and 
expressly indicated to the UP that it should increase pressure to eliminate the fraudulent 
cooperatives in order to formalize work in the sector. The advocacy of the UP underpinned 
specific positions in the proposal put forth by the national labor centers to the February 2012 ILO 
mission, influenced the terms of national political discussion regarding improving respect for 
labor rights, and was reflected in aspects of the Obama-Santos Labor Action Plan. 
Objective 3: To strengthen the capacity of Colombian trade unions to work in national and 
international networks and coalitions to effectively advocate for workplace, industry and public 
policies that provide greater protection of fundamental rights. 
Results and Outcomes 
3.1 Colombian trade union organizations incorporated into community networks as a key 
actor with an active role in addressing concerns of a broad base of workers throughout the 
Colombian workforce. 
Health Care Sector 
In the fourth quarter of 2009 (November 12-14), the national labor center, CUT, and labor 
representatives from the health sector, participated in the third national conference on health care 
and social security. More than 400 representatives from a wide range of civil society 
organizations participated in the conference to develop proposals on health care access and 
quality. The labor participants included for the first time the issue of decent work in the health 
sector as an integral part of the proposals to improve the public health care system. (Also applies 
to RO 4.3) 
Ports Sector 
In the third quarter of 2010, the UP launched a regional campaign to formalize working 
conditions in the ports. The UP met with and obtained the support of local organizations, the 
Corporación Veeduría Social de Cartagena, the Fundación de Puerto Buenaventrua, and the Red 
de Veedurías del Caribe. (Also applies to RO 4.3) 
In the first quarter of 2011, the UP-Buenaventura branch conducted outreach to community 
organizations to build support for the UP labor formalization initiative. Among the community 
organizations contacted were the Pastoral Social of the Catholic Archdiocese, Salvación 
Buenaventura, Afro-descendant organizations (PCN, Sinucon, and CVC), the women’s 
organization Cabeza de Hogar, artisan fishing organizations, the Mayor’s office, and the Pacific 
University. The local chapter of the UP also met with Oscar Gamboa, Coordinator for the 
Presidential Program for the Afro-descendant Population, and with the Colombian Vice 
President’s Office to help coordinate a Vice Presidential visit and forum on Aftro-Colombian 
issues in Buenaventura. The Forum was held on March 10, 2011 and included Colombian Vice 
President Angelino Garzón; the Mayor of Buenaventura, Jose Felix Ocoro Minota; the Bishop of 
Buenaventura, Hector Epalza; the Bishop of Tumaco, Gustavo Higuita; and representatives from 
the Pacific University. The UP-Buenaventura, in coordination with the Vice President’s office, 
promoted community participation in the event as part of their community outreach efforts. (Also 
applies to RO 4.3) 
As a reaction to the increasing pressure to eliminate labor intermediation, a growing number of 
low- and mid-level subcontracting intermediaries have leveled increasingly aggressive threats 
toward the local UP branches. In the third quarter of 2011, the UP undertook outreach efforts to 
bring these contractors into the process, and lower the level of threats and potential violence. The 
UP expanded its proposed plan for formalizing work in the ports to incorporate lower level 
subcontractors into the formal production chain (if labor subcontractors are eliminated, then the 
primary employers will need experienced labor managers to assume this function). As a result of 
the UP outreach, a growing number of labor subcontractors are meeting with the UP to explore 
incorporation into the initiative. In Buenaventura, the Corporación de Operadores Portuarios del 
Pacifico, S.A. joined with the UP to seek inclusion in the process of formalization in 
Buenaventura (Also applies to RO 1.3)
Palm Sector 
In the third quarter of 2010, palm worker organizers in the Magdalena Medio region conducted 
four, one-day community events to build community support for organizing in the palm 
plantations surrounding the communities. The public events were conducted in Puerto Wilches, 
Puente Sogamoso, San Alberto and Yarima. International union delegates from the United 
States labor movement participated in the events and pledged support from U.S. unions. In later 
palm worker initiatives in both San Alberto and Puente Sogomoso, the unions received 
community support for union appeals for more formalized work contracts and improved working 
conditions. (Also applies to RO 3.2, and RO 4.3) 
3.2 Colombian trade union organizations incorporated into global labor rights support 
networks as a central actor with capacity to bring a positive spotlight on the labor rights 
framework and practice in Colombia. 
Ports Sector 
In the second quarter of 2010, the President of the UP traveled to the U.S. and held meetings 
with unions, human rights organizations, members of congress and USG officials to talk about 
the worker rights situation in the ports in Colombia, and the UP proposal to formalize labor 
relations in the sector. Following meetings conducted in the U.S., the UP affiliated to the 
International Dock Workers Union in the first quarter of 2011.
Objective 4: To improve the skills of Colombian trade union unionists to carry out key union 
responsibilities, including internal union democracy, union finance and administration, worker 
representation, and collective bargaining. 
Results and Outcomes 
4.1 Statutes reformed or policies adopted and implemented by at least two union partners to 
increase membership participation in union decision-making or to increase financial transparency 
and sustainability. 
Public Sector 
In the first and second quarters of 2010, the national public sector union, Sinalserpub, conducted 
a series of activities to promote a modification of its statutes to permit the inclusion of 
subcontracted workers into the union, to conduct organizing visits to regions throughout the 
country, and to conduct five regional assemblies to expand membership. The membership has 
increased by over 5,000 since its formation, including over 1,000 subcontracted workers. 
In March 2011, Sinalserpub held an assembly of local chapters and voted to conduct elections at 
the national and regional branch levels, opening participation for recently affiliated members 
(however, elections were not scheduled at the national level for another three years). The 
elections will designate leadership for the 2011-2015 term. 
Ports Sector 
In the third quarter of 2010, the UP-Barranquilla held an assembly to reform statutes regarding 
internal democracy and administrative transparency. The executive board was relieved of its 
duties and a new board elected. The action was taken in response to member dissatisfaction with 
the internal administration of information and resources. 
4.2 Policies or resolutions adopted and implemented by at least two participating union partners to 
enter into inter-union coordination or alliances to increase union representation or labor rights 
protections for a broader base of the Colombian workforce. 
Public Sector 
Throughout 2010 and 2011, the CUT and more than a dozen public sector unions and federations 
undertook a series of meetings and activities to coordinate policy positions and to discuss a 
process of organizational unification. The coordination was extended to the two other national 
labor centers, the CGT (Central General de Trabajadores) and CTC (Central de Trabajadores de 
Colombia) and their affiliated unions in the collective bargaining process in the District of 
Bogotá, and in the negotiation process with the national government regarding the draft decree to 
regulate collective bargaining in the public sector. On October 8, 2011, Sinalserpub and eight 
public sector unions held a unification congress and voted to unify into a single national union. 
The new national public sector union, SUNET, is the product of a two-year process and is now 
the largest in the sector. 
Also see Palm Sector under RO 3.1 for advances on this RO. 
4.3 Policies or resolutions adopted and implemented by at least two participating union 
partners to enter into labor-community alliances to increase union representation or labor 
rights protections for a broader base of the Colombian workforce. 
On November 12-14, 2009 the CUT and labor representatives from the health sector participated 
in the third national conference on health care and social security. More than 400 representatives 
from a wide range of civil society organizations participated in the conference to develop 
proposals on health care access and quality. The labor participants included for the first time the 
issue of decent work in the health sector as an integral part of the proposals to improve the public 
health care system. (Also applies to RO 3.1) 
Also see Ports Sector under RO 3.1 and Palm Sector under 3.1 for advances on this RO. 
4.4 Union membership increased by 10% over the course of the program in at least two 
participating unions.
Artisan Sector 
In September 2009, following a series of preparatory and organizing activities conducted by the 
CGT, 250 regional organizations of artisan workers held the founding congress of the National 
Federation of Artisan Workers of Colombia (FNTAC). The new federation represents over 
10,000 artisan workers throughout the country. 
Public Sector 
In the first and second quarters of 2010, the national public sector union, Sinalserpub undertook 
a process to reform its statutes to allow for greater inclusion in its membership. Building on the 
new representation structure, the union increased its membership from about 6,500 in 2009, to 
12,000 by the first quarter of 2012. 
Ports Sector 
The UP had no members in the first quarter of 2009. By the first quarter of 2012, the UP had 
2500 members, with a much greater potential if workers in the sector are transitioned from sub￾contracting relationships to direct, formal employment contracts. 
Palm Sector 
Palm workers’ unions have been working with sub-contracted palm workers in both Meta and 
Magdalena Medio with a focus on formalizing their labor contracts. In both regions, the unions 
have developed significant support among subcontracted workers in these regions, but these 
workers will not affiliate to the unions until their employment relations are formalized with 
direct labor contracts, thus providing them the legal protection to organize. Consequently, there 
is a significant potential for as yet unrealized growth in union membership in the sector. 
III. Impact Assessment 
The Solidarity Center's project in Colombia has focused on strengthening unions’ capacity to 
both represent workers at their workplaces and in the broader economic and policy arenas. Key 
fundamental labor rights themes, specifically the right to organize and bargain collectively, 
underpin the different aspects of the program. Organizational strengthening, advocacy, and 
policy work all sought to strengthen these fundamental union and worker representation 
functions. Over the three years of the project, the Solidarity Center has directly contributed to 
some of the biggest labor advances seen in Colombia in several decades. The gains made by 
unions to focus efforts on organizational strengthening and improved worker representation, as 
well as advancements in key labor policy issues, are building an improved framework for respect 
for labor rights in Colombia. 
In several important economic sectors the SC program has had a direct impact on implementing 
new organizing, restructuring, bargaining and advocacy strategies to improve unions’ capacity to 
represent workers. In the ports sector, where the workforce was essentially unorganized in 2009, 
the SC program successfully supported the unification and building of a new, national ports 
union. In addition, in affiliating more than 2,000 mostly subcontracted port workers the ports 
union has lead the Colombian labor movement in defining one of organized labor’s most 
important goals—formalizing labor contracts and eliminating the numerous forms of 
subcontracting used to employ hundreds of thousands of workers. The union has complemented 
its organizing activities with sound policy proposals for formalizing jobs. This foundation has 
been supplemented with worker mobilization and community support to press for application of 
new laws designed to formalize work, strategic application of existing rights enforcement 
mechanisms, and high-level policy advocacy. While sophisticated in its use of different legal 
tools and advocacy approaches, the port union’s strategy was consistently grounded in grassroots 
base-building and activism. Although still building toward achievement of its goals, the port 
union’s success so far in building its membership base and advancing its worker right goals 
keenly demonstrates the focus and impact of the SC project. 
Similarly, in the palm sector, while organizing new members into their unions as affiliates has 
proven very difficult, the local unions in Magdalena Medio successfully mobilized 4,000 sub￾contracted palm workers to demand direct labor contracts and improved working conditions. The 
unions strategically employed demand-side pressure as well as significant community support to 
press for the application of new laws, attracting thousands of workers who traditionally were 
barred from organizing because of their employment arrangements. In June of 2011, unions 
successfully negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement that increased direct labor 
contracts in seven years. In October 2011, the local union negotiated a framework agreement, 
signed by both the Vice President of Colombia and the Minister of Social Protection, paving the 
way to transition thousands of subcontracted palm workers into direct, full-time positions. As in 
the case of the port workers, the palm workers successfully brought together worker and 
community organizing at the grassroots level and advocacy with national level policymakers, 
paving the way for the achievement of a collective bargaining agreement in a sector where 
employers had previously been unwilling to negotiate with unions. The demand-side actions, 
bottom-up pressure from workers made the palm sector in Magdalena Medio a publicly 
recognized test case for the new Labor Ministry and the new laws deriving from the Obama￾Santos Labor Action Plan. It is the first sector in which the new laws are being applied, and 
could potentially impact dozens of thousands of workers. 
In the public sector, deliberate and strategic union restructuring and reform of internal union 
statutes made it possible for one of the principle national public sector unions to double its 
membership in two years, adding nearly 6,000 members. The union is also focusing on the 
application of legal prescriptions to formalize the thousands of subcontracted workers in the 
sector (Constitutional Court decision C-614 of 2009, as well as Decree 2025). 
The Solidarity Center program initiated work with partners with an emphasis on promoting a 
labor agenda for critical labor reforms. Notable progress has been made toward its objectives in 
this aspect. A new presidential administration in Colombia, which shed much of the expressly 
anti-union discourse of the previous government, opened new opportunities for engagement and 
dialogue on labor rights policy issues. The Solidarity Center supported union partners to take 
advantage of this opportunity to address longstanding concerns and discuss solutions with 
ministers and elected officials that had expressed their openness to constructive engagement with 
unions. Given the international focus and attention on Colombia in recent years, trade union 
partners seized the opportunity to consolidate their demands in a reform agenda presented to the 
ILO’s mission to Colombia. The trade union agenda and subsequent ILO recommendations to 
the government of Colombia laid out a detailed and ambitious path to reforming Colombia’s 
labor rights environment, although the government of Colombia did not initially act on the 
recommendations. However, much of the agenda developed with the labor movement for the 
ILO process was taken up and reflected months later in the Obama-Santos Labor Action Plan, 
which detailed a number of procedural and legal reforms intended to make progress on 
improving labor rights in Colombia. Subsequently, the SC project then had important success in 
assisting unions in adopting key measures in the Labor Action Plan as the foundation for their 
policy initiatives, advocacy, and as a basis for organizing demand-side pressure for compliance. 
As the project concluded, these trade union efforts were still underway, and had been met with 
mixed success. On the one hand, trade unions had the legal and institutional backing, as well as 
presidential commitments, to support their efforts at worker organizing and collective 
bargaining, and could point to these critical commitments as they sought to defend their rights. 
As result, trade unions succeeded in negotiating some agreements that would have been 
impossible just a couple years earlier. On the other, unions continued to face challenges, 
including employer resistance, limited government capacity, and the ongoing violence, that 
stymied real progress, in spite of the policy gains they had recently achieved. 
IV. Lessons Learned and Recommendations 
 Programs aimed at supporting the exercise of core labor rights should specifically 
incorporate inclusion of workers employed under flexible working contracts in efforts to 
expand representation, regardless of legal barriers to union membership. The most 
successful worker organizing under the program occurred within workforces where the 
majority of workers did not have the right to organize or join unions because of legal or 
practical restrictions stemming from their (indirect) hiring arrangements. Through 
successful base-building efforts and demand-side pressure, however, workers built 
sufficient voice to demand legal reforms that protected subcontracted workers’ right to 
direct employment and all workers’ right join a union, which were subsequently reflected 
in GoC labor rights commitments. 
 Support capacity building activities to increase effective participation in public policy 
initiatives such as developing and promoting labor law reforms, participation in dialogue 
and negotiation processes, and developing sound legal initiatives. In two of the 
program’s key sectors, ports and palm oil, the majority of the workforce was both 
economically and socially marginalized. Workers not only labored under some of the 
worst conditions in the country, but also lived in impoverished communities with little 
voice or influence on national policy issues affecting the communities’ livelihoods. By 
coupling grassroots worker and community organizing in support of labor rights with 
capacity building for policy advocacy, program activities ensured that union leaders were 
able to channel the demands of workers from marginalized communities to national-level 
decision makers at the highest levels of government. 
 Where possible, design economic sector-wide bargaining proposals along with national 
level policy reform proposals, and use each as a means to promote the other 
simultaneously. In Colombia, collective bargaining and traditional union strategies for 
collective advocacy are severely limited by labor law and interpretations of law. 
Furthermore, given historical employer intransigence in critical sectors, there was little 
hope that workers could successfully negotiate collective bargaining agreements absent 
an enabling policy and legal environment. At the same time, new labor regulations could 
have languished as abstract, unrealistic policy commitments were they not reflected in 
concrete worker demands at the workplace level. By supporting unions to advance 
national labor reform proposals simultaneously with focused, sector-specific collective 
bargaining proposals, the program ensured that union efforts at the workplace and policy 
level were mutually reinforcing. At both levels, demand-side pressure and creative 
proposals as strategies for defense and extension of fundamental rights were key to 
achieving labor rights advancements. 
 International support for important organizing and collective bargaining initiatives 
provide essential political cover and support to workers who may be vulnerable to violent 
responses from employers, government, or illegal actors. The violence and instability 
still prevalent in some areas of Colombia make routine union activity dangerous, 
rendering some of the larger worker actions to defend rights even riskier. Throughout the 
duration of the program period, program partners were victims of threats and violence. 
Both to ensure partners’ safety and to ensure continuity of program activities, the 
Solidarity Center used its own resources and counterpart support to draw international 
attention to partners’ cases to protect them from violence. 
 Unions should seek redress from appropriate public institutions regardless of the lack of 
official political will or responsiveness. The lack of a functioning labor ministry, and 
ineffective legal system for defending labor rights, and a political culture that had 
historically stigmatized trade union activity created an environment in which there was 
limited, if any, viable recourse for worker rights violations through established 
mechanisms. International political pressure and international accompaniment, often 
spearheaded by Solidarity Center ally unions in the US and other countries, were useful 
in pressing for effective responses at the national level. When those efforts failed, 
multilateral institutions such as the ILO and in some cases the OAS Inter-American 
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) provide international forums that can be used to 
increase pressure for national level compliance. 
 The internal democracy component of the project should be expanded, to continue to 
modernize the labor movement and create a sustainable culture of inclusion and 
democracy within worker organizations. As trade union partners grew and increased their 
membership bases by bringing in new members, it was necessary to ensure that those 
members had the knowledge and skills to become educated, capable, and active union 
members. Historical stigmatization of trade union activity and concerted violence against 
trade union leaders has robbed Colombian unions of a generation of leaders and 
members. Rebuilding the Colombian trade union movement requires not just an increase 
in membership numbers, but the strengthening of unions as democratic, member-driven 
organizations.
V. Problems/Obstacles to Report 
The program had important positive impacts when union partners’ objectives were to build 
greater representation and more effective policy participation. When union partners’ objectives 
were heavily influenced by ulterior objectives, political or individual agendas, the program had 
limited positive impact. Hence, it was necessary early on for the project to maximize its focus on 
important economic sectors with at least some union presence that could benefit from project 
support. 
The SC project developed representation capacity for a number of organizations and played an 
important role in achieving and developing important policy reforms. Policy reforms 
represented in the Obama-Santos Labor Action Plan (LAP) have the potential to transform 
poorly regulated jobs in formal economic sectors into decent jobs with full labor rights 
protection. However, this last half year tested the political will and preparedness of the 
government to put the Labor Action Plan reforms into practice, and revealed some serious 
challenges to implementing the new regulations and policies, among other things, on formalizing 
work and eliminating fraudulent subcontracting. In the ports, palm and petroleum sectors, 
workers seized the opportunity created by the new policies to take up the initiative to formalize 
work and seek improvements in their working conditions, buoyed by the notion that the Labor 
Action Plan was a government endorsement of some of their longstanding demands. 
In every case, workers’ attempts to apply the new prescriptions were met with firm employer 
resistance, and government institutions proved at once too weak, unprepared, and sometimes 
unwilling to enforce the law. In the petroleum sector, by far the worst of such recent cases, 
employer refusal to comply with legal mandates was supported by the use of public security 
forces to intimidate and oblige workers (most of whom were hired under short-term contracts) to 
desist in their demands with the threat of deadly force. As a result of this pressure, thousands of 
workers were forced to resign from their union, and then were obliged to join an employer￾imposed union, or be blacklisted and barred from future employment. This resulted in at least 
3,000 workers, in essence, being fired for attempting to exercise freedom of association. 
In the palm sector, where workers in the Magdalena Medio region sought direct contracting, 
employer refusal to accept the new contracting conditions led to a protracted work stoppage that 
was only resolved with government mediation and international pressure. Union leaders in the 
area have recently begun to receive threats of violence from illegal armed actors that have 
reappeared in the region. 
Real progress in the ports sector has come only because of concerted worker actions in demand 
of negotiations. Dozens of port worker leaders remain fired today, and hundreds are threatened 
with blacklisting if they remain in the union. 
The examples cited above in the palm, petroleum and ports sectors represent the first cases 
testing the GoC’s effectiveness in applying new laws to improve respect for labor rights. The 
endemic institutional weakness and culture of permissiveness persists. New legal prescriptions 
stemming from commitments encased in the Action Plan have not yet been codified in policies 
or instruments, nor have public servants been instructed in new policies or their application. 
There is as yet no systemic structure or systematic process for the application of the prescriptions 
described in the Labor Action Plan. 
SC program partners, including public sector unions, the ports union, petroleum unions, sugar 
sector unions, and the palm workers’ unions maintain that formalization of employment and 
direct hiring are essential to promoting fundamental worker rights. As the new Ministry of Labor 
takes shape, it will be important for the workers in these sectors to reengage with labor 
authorities to press for continuation of their cases and to contribute proposals to the new 
authorities that will facilitate better policies, instruments, and training consistent with the new 
legal norms and the needs of workers. Supporting unions in their efforts to undertake this critical 
work will be a priority of upcoming SC programming. 
VI. Activities 
 In the first week of February 2009 the SC supported unorganized port workers to conduct 
an assembly to discuss problems with employment in the sector and possibilities to 
organize in the sector. More than 300 workers and pensioners attended the 6-hour 
meeting. 
 
 On February 15, 2009 the SC conducted a planning and organizing workshop with 
leaders of informal sector artisan workers. The meeting was conducted with the CGT 
labor center, which will provide institutional support to the organizing effort of the 
artisan workers. The artisan workers are preparing to form a federation that will organize 
thousands of artisan workers with the goal of establishing standards of pay and working 
conditions presently imposed by the monopoly organizations that control the marketing 
of artisan production. 
 On February 18, 2009 the SC conducted a planning meeting with leaders from the 
national health workers union, SINDESS, to plan the initial steps for organizing sub￾contracted doctors and health workers on the Caribbean coast. 
 On February 23, 2009 the SC conducted a second planning and organizing workshop 
with leaders of informal sector artisan workers. The meeting was conducted with the 
CGT labor center. 
 On March 3, 2009 the SC conducted an initial planning and organizing workshop with 
leaders of the public sector. The focus of the activity was organizing public sector 
workers employed under non-labor, civil contracts. 
 On March 6, 2009 the SC conducted a one-day workshop on conflict resolution with 
local leaders of public sector and health sector workers. 
 On March 10, 2009 the SC held a second session with the national health workers union, 
SINDESS, to continue planning for organizing sub-contracted health workers on the 
Caribbean coast. 
 On March 10, 2009 the SC conducted an organizing workshop with leaders of informal 
sector artisan workers. The meeting was conducted with the CGT labor center. 
 On March 12, 2009 the SC conducted a meeting with the national health workers union, 
SINDESS, to continue planning for organizing subcontracted health workers on the 
Caribbean coast. 
 On March 19, 2009 the SC supported port worker activists to conduct a second assembly 
to discuss problems with employment in the sector and organizing possibilities. The 
activity was conducted in Cartagena, with over 400 participants. 
 Between February 5 and March 31, 2009 the SC supported port worker activists to 
conduct ongoing organizing meetings with port workers in Cartagena, Barranquilla, and 
Santa Marta. 
 The SC conducted meetings with the Ministry of Social Protection with the Vice Minister 
of Labor Relations, with the Labor Inspector’s office (Coordinadora del Grupo del 
Prevención, Inspección y Vigilancia of the Ministry of Social Protection) in Bolívar; with 
Management Systems for Development; with the MIDAS program; and with the 
International Labor Organization (ILO) office in Colombia. 
 In this quarter, April – May 2009, the SC conducted organizing and planning meetings 
with national confederation leaders and activists in the following sectors: ports (4), palm 
(6), public service (2), healthcare (2), petroleum (2), mining (3), sugar (1), and artisan 
workers (11). 
 In the month of May 2009, the SC supported the CGT to conduct a series of four work 
sessions with legal advisors and key artisan sector leaders to design and draft statutes for 
the founding of the National Federation of Artisan Workers. The founding congress is 
planned for September, 2009. 
 On May 26, 2009 the SC conducted a national forum on organizing and collective 
bargaining in the public sector. The SC, Sinalserpub and Fenaltrase held the event in the 
Salón Presidencial del Congreso with 116 local and regional public sector leaders. The 
event dealt with both the legal obstacles to collective bargaining in the public sector and 
the inclusion of subcontracted public sector workers in plans for achieving collective 
bargaining rights. 
 On June 2, 2009 the SC assisted leaders from the four ports – Buenaventura, Cartagena, 
Barranquilla and Santa Marta – in meeting with human rights representatives in the U.S. 
Embassy. The purpose of the meeting was to inform human rights personnel of working 
conditions and plans to confront labor problems and informal employment contracting 
systems. (This activity also corresponds to Objective 3.) 
 On June 13 and 14, 2009 the SC conducted a national forum with palm worker 
organizations on organizing and collective bargaining in the sector. A total of 140 leaders 
and activists from Meta and Magdalena Medio, as well as the CUT and CUT-Meta, 
participated. (This also corresponds to Objective 3.) 
 On June 15, 2009 the SC supported the CGT in conducting an organizing training for key 
leaders of the artisan workers. The leaders/activists are affiliating members and local 
organizations in various parts of the country that are organizing the Federation of Artisan 
Workers of Colombia. (This also corresponds to Objective 4.) 
 On June 19 and 20, 2009 the SC conducted a national strategic planning workshop for the 
ports sector organizations. The workshop was conducted in Barranquilla with leaders 
and activists from all four ports: Buenaventura, Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta. 
 On June 23 and 24, 2009 the SC supported the port workers’ union in Buenaventura in 
conducting a series of two-hour organizing meetings with port workers. A representative 
of the national union-in-formation from the Caribbean coast, the Unión Portuaria, also 
participated. 
 On July 3 - 5, 2009 the SC conducted a national coordinating workshop with 30 national 
leaders of the CUT and leaders and activists from key economic sectors from around the 
country. The focus of the activity was to determine which economic sectors the CUT will 
prioritize regarding organizing new members and confronting sub-contracting. 
 The SC conducted meetings with the ILO representatives in Bogotá, labor law experts 
and a constitutional authority (a magistrate of the Constitutional Court). The purpose of 
the meetings was to explore jurisprudence, international norms and constitutional 
prescriptions on labor contracting and labor rights. 
 On July 2, 2009 the SC conducted a one-day planning meeting with 36 leaders of the four 
ports. The focus of the meeting was to plan a coordinated mass action to highlight poor 
working conditions in the ports sector. On July 3, 2009 workers from all four ports 
(Buenaventura, Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta) participated in marches. 
 On July 2 - 4, 2009 the SC conducted a three-day strategic planning process with the 32 
leaders of the Central Unitario de Trabajadores (CUT). The national center developed a 
diagnostic of challenges and prospects for expanding organization, improving collective 
bargaining, and advocating for needed legal changes. The national center identified 
priority industrial sectors as well as priority labor rights issues on which it will focus its 
work. 
 On July 17, 2009 the SC conducted an organizing meeting with 46 port workers in 
Barranquilla. 
 On July 18-19, 2009 the SC conducted a two-day strategic planning training with 37 local 
palm sector leaders in the Meta region. 
 On July 23-25, 2009 the SC conducted a three-day strategic planning training for 34 local 
palm sector leaders in the Magdalena Medio region. The purpose of the activity was to 
develop a work-plan for organizing in the palm sector in that region of the country. 
 On July 26, 2009 the SC supported the founding assembly of the Cartagena chapter of the 
industrial sector union, Union Portuaria. The local chapter of the national union was 
founded with 102 participants. 
 On August 1, 2009 the SC conducted a one-day workshop with 22 leaders of the national 
nurses union, ANEC. The focus of the meeting was organizing new workers who are 
employed under flexible contracts in the sector. 
 In August 2009 the SC supported a series of seven organizing meetings with national and 
regional leaders in preparation for the founding congress of the Federation of Artisan 
Workers of Colombia. The participants prepared the necessary legal documents and 
selected the delegates for the founding congress. 
 On August 2, 2009 the SC conducted a one-day planning meeting with eight leaders of 
four ports (Santa Marta, Barranquilla, Cartagena and Buenaventura). The focus of the 
meeting was to develop a sector-wide collective bargaining proposal. 
 On August 29-30, 2009 the SC conducted a two-day workshop with 54 leaders of the 
palm sector in Meta. The focus of the workshop was health and safety on the local palm 
plantations. Dr. Conde, an expert in health and safety, directed the workshop. 
 From August 14-28, 2009 the SC conducted six 6 organizing meetings in the ports sector, 
with a total of 108 participants. Each meeting was between 2 and 3 hours in duration and 
focused on the planning of each step in the union organizing process in the ports sector. 
The meetings were conducted in the following dates and places: August 14 in Cartagena, 
August 15, 20 and 26 in Barranquilla, and August 16 in Buenaventura. 
 On August 28, 2009 the SC supported an assembly of ports workers in Buenaventura to 
discuss the problems of contracts in the ports and the affiliation of the Sintramaritimo 
members to the national industrial union, Union Portuaria. 180 workers participated in 
the activity. 
 From August 30-September 27, 2009 the SC supported the port workers in Buenaventura 
to conduct 5 community outreach activities to promote affiliation to the port workers 
union. The activities, called “ollas comunitarias,” or community potlucks, are designed 
to help the union make contact with workers and their families in their neighborhoods, 
discuss work and community problems in a secure and friendly environment, and 
promote affiliation to the union. More than 450 people participated in the five 
community activities. As part of the activity, students from the Universidad del Pacífico, 
conducted a survey on working and living conditions of port workers during the 
community events. 
 On September 1, 2009 the SC supported the founding assembly of the Barranquilla 
chapter of the national industrial union, Unión Portuaria. The local union branch was 
founded in an assembly of 80 participants. 
 On September 3-5, 2009 the SC supported the founding congress of the Federation of 
Artisan Workers of Colombia. The congress was inaugurated by the Vice Minister of 
Social Protection with participation of 400 delegates and supporters. The new federation 
represents 122 organizations in 24 departments. 
 From September 4-18, 2009 the SC conducted five organizing meetings in the ports 
sector, with a total of 90 participants. The meetings were conducted in the following 
dates and places: September 4 and 10 in Barranquilla, September 11 in Cartagena, 
September 16 in Buenaventura, and September 18 in Santa Marta. 
 On September 5-6, 2009 the SC conducted two one-day workshops with regional leaders 
of the ports sector in Barranquilla and Cartagena. The focus of the activities was the use 
of the contrato sindical as a bargaining strategy in a coordinated bargaining plan. 
 On September 11-12, 2009 the SC conducted a two-day planning session with 16 
Confederación de Trabajadores de Colombia (CTC) national and regional leaders. The 
national center identified priorities for 2010 organizing initiatives. 
 On September 26-27, 2009 the SC conducted a two-day organizing workshop with 52 
workers of the palm sector in Meta. The focus of the activity was work-related injuries, 
changes that need to be made to avoid them, and the challenges to getting the worker-led 
safety committees to function properly. The high rate of job related injuries is a key 
point of interest for many palm workers. 
 In August and September, 2009 the SC sponsored union activists and a university student 
volunteer to conduct three two-day trips to local communities in Meta where palm 
workers live to conduct interviews regarding working and living conditions in the 
communities. The information being collected will serve as a basis for recruiting 
community and labor leaders, and will be used in the upcoming development of a 
bargaining platform. 
 On October 11, 2009 the SC conducted an organizing meeting with 56 port workers in 
the Pacific port of Buenaventura. The meeting focused on the conditions in the ports, the 
obstacles to organizing, and SC project support to organizational strengthening efforts. 
 From October 24-28, 2009 the SC supported a five-day national assembly of the national 
agro-industries union, Sintraimagra, with 112 participants. The purpose of the activity 
was to evaluate possibilities for organizing palm workers, the opportunities and obstacles 
in different parts of the country, and build support in the base of the national union for the 
effort. 
 On October 28, 2009 the SC supported an assembly of 98 ports workers in Santa Marta, 
with the purpose of founding the Santa Marta branch of the national port workers union, 
Union Portuaria (UP). The statutes were presented, voted on and passed; and leadership 
was elected. The paperwork was submitted to the Ministry of Social Protection and 
registered on November 18, 2009. 
 On October 30 and 31, 2009 the SC supported a workshop with the Cartagena branch of 
the UP to discuss the “contrato sindical” (“union contract” hiring system) as a possible 
model of organizing in the ports sector. 
 In November 2009, the SC supported 12 organizing visits to communities in Meta to 
promote union organizing among palm workers. Organizers were accompanied by a 
student who conducted interviews with workers and family members regarding working 
and living conditions. 
 In November 2009, the SC supported three community-based organizing events with 104 
port workers of Buenaventura. The community potlucks (ollas comunitarias) were 
conducted in working-class neighborhoods where the majority of residents are ports 
workers. Community members are invited so they can receive information about the 
union and its work areas, such as achieving improvements in working conditions. 
 Between November 10 and 30, 2009, the SC supported the UP and the National Union 
School (ENS) to conduct a study of working conditions of port workers in Buenaventura. 
 On November 10, 2009 the SC supported 15 representatives of the national ports 
workers’ union, UP, to attend a meeting with the Director of USAID-Colombia, Ken 
Yamashita, in Santa Marta. The meeting focused on working conditions in the ports, the 
obstacles to organizing, and the SC project support to union organizing efforts. 
 On November 12 and 14, 2009 the SC supported the national labor center, CUT, and 43 
health workers and nurses to participate in the third national conference on health care 
and social security. More than 400 representatives from a wide range of civil society 
organizations participated in the conference to develop proposals on health care access 
and quality. For the first time, the labor participation discussed lack of decent work in 
the health sector as an integral part of the problems plaguing the health care system. 
 On November 14 and 15, 2009 the SC supported activists in the palm sector to conduct 
organizing meetings in the communities of Cumeral and Vereda Pesqueros in the state of 
Meta. 
 On November 17, 2009 the SC supported the UP to bring two leaders to Bogotá and meet 
with the Vice Minister (VM) of the Ministry of Social Protection (MSP). The UP 
presented a proposal to the VM to encourage employers to recognize the union, and end 
the violation of Colombian law through the fraudulent use of Service Cooperatives. This 
meeting lead to the MSP convening ports employers to a tri-partite meeting in Cartagena 
to discuss union expansion and tax incentives for employers for doing business with the 
union. 
 On November 22, 2009 the SC supported an assembly of 81 port workers in 
Buenaventura with the purpose of founding the Buenaventura branch of the national port 
workers union, UP. The statutes were presented, voted and passed, and leadership was 
elected. The paperwork was presented to the MSP the following week. 
 On November 24 and 25, 2009 the SC conducted an assessment of conditions in the palm 
sector in Magdalena Medio in preparation for activities in the sector. Key factors 
including security concerns, leadership development, and training needs were studied in 
the six communities visited. 
 On November 29, 2009 the SC conducted a workshop with the CTC and women 
domestic workers. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss working conditions in 
the sector and the possibilities for organizing domestic workers into a union that can 
represent their interests before the government and employers. This was an initial 
exploratory activity in the sector. 
 On December 5 and 6, 2009 the SC conducted a national seminar with 51 ports workers 
to discuss the different possible strategies for organizing the sector and confronting 
possible employer and government obstacles. 
 On December 7, 2009 the SC organized meetings in Bogotá for key organizers in the 
Magdalena Medio palm sector with human rights lawyers (Colectivo de Abogados) and 
the national food workers union, Sintraimagra. The meetings focused on legal support to 
confront political persecution for organizing activity, and organizational structure for 
emerging groups of workers organizing in the region. 
 On December 19, the SC supported an assembly with 175 ports workers for the Santa 
Marta branch of the Union Portuaria (UP). The activity focused on organizing strategy in 
the Santa Marta ports, the establishment of a dues structure, and preparing a proposal for 
the MSP to seek support from the Ministry. 
 In the month of January 2010, the SC conducted jointly with union leaders from the ports 
sector a series of meetings with the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Social Protection to 
develop Ministry support and good offices in dealing with ports employers’ reactions to 
the formation of the new national ports union, the UP. 
 On January 16, 2010 the SC supported an assembly with 65 workers of the Barranquilla 
local of the Union Portuaria. The focus of the assembly was to discuss and vote on the 
use of the “contrato sindical”3
 as a strategy to organize the port workers, and to prepare 
for an upcoming meeting with the Vice Minister of Social Protection. 
 On January 18, 2010 the SC supported the UP as it developed government support for its 
organizing work in the Barranquilla and Cartagena ports. Following a series of working 
meetings between the UP and the Vice Minister of Social Protection (MSP), the MSP 
convened a meeting with the Sociedad Portuarias, (SPs – ports operators) of Barranquilla 
and Cartagena. Representatives of the SPs, the business association, ANDI, 22 
representatives of the UP, the Director of labor affairs, and four advisors for the MSP 
participated. 
 On February 5-6, 2010 the SC supported Sintraimagra to conduct a 2-day national 
evaluation and planning workshop. The workshop addressed organizing work in the 
palm sector in Meta, possibilities of organizing in the palm sector on the coast, and 
coordinating actions with palm organizing efforts in the Magdalena Medio region.
 3.The term “contrato sindical” does not translate as “union contract” as understood in U.S. labor law. It is 
defined in articles 482, 483, and 484 of the labor code (Código Sustantivo de Trabajo), and further regulated 
in presidential decree 657 of 2006. If managed properly, it can be a useful way for a union to establish 
representation and negotiate better conditions for workers. It was included as one of President Uribe’s cien 
puntos (one hundred points) in his first programa del gobierno (government plan). In 2006 the government 
passed a presidential decree to facilitate its application. Hence, the GoC theoretically supports the use of 
contratos sindicales. 
 On February 6, 2010 the SC conducted a collective bargaining workshop with 27 
participants from the Barranquilla local of the UP. The specific focus of the workshop 
was the tariff system, or payment structure and rates for different job functions in the 
ports. 
 On February 21, 2010 the SC conducted a workshop for 30 organizers and workers the 
domestic work sector. The focus was on working conditions that could be improved 
through organizing a national union of domestic workers. 
 On February 24, 2010 the SC conducted an evaluation and planning session with 12 
leaders of Sintraimagra to plan organizing activities in the palm sector in Meta. 
 On February 27-28, 2010 the SC supported Sintraimagra to conduct a 2-day planning 
workshop with 98 activists from the palm sector. The focus of the activity was 
organizing workers in the palm sector in Meta and discussing problems that have arisen 
at some work sites. 
 On February 6-7, 2010 the SC supported the palm worker organizers in Puente 
Sogamoso, Magdalena Medio to conduct a 2-day organizing workshop with 33 palm 
workers and community leaders. 
 On February 7, 2010 the SC supported Sintraimagra and Palm worker organizers in Meta 
to conduct a 1-day organizing workshop with 82 palm workers and community leaders in 
the town of Veracruz, Meta. 
 On February 13-14, 2010 the SC supported the palm worker organizers in Puerto 
Wilches, Magdalena Medio, to conduct a 2-day organizing workshop with 27 palm 
workers and community leaders. 
 On February 13-14, 2010 the SC supported the palm worker organizers in Kilometro 8, 
Magdalena Medio, to conduct a 2-day organizing workshop with 23 palm workers and 
community leaders.
 On February 19, 2010 the SC supported the palm worker organizers to come to Bogotá to 
meet with the Colectivo de Abogados (Lawyers’ Collective) to prepare a complaint on 
discrimination, intimidation, and threats against union leaders on the Manuelita palm 
plantation in Meta. 
 On February 21, 2010 the SC supported the palm worker organizers to conduct an 
organizing visit to Veracruz, Meta, reaching 23 workers. The focus of the meeting was 
organizing to improve conditions in the palm plantations. 
 On February 20-21, 2010 the SC supported the palm worker organizers in San Alberto, 
Magdalena Medio, to conduct a 2-day organizing workshop with 25 palm workers and 
community leaders. 
 On February 24, 2010 the SC conducted an organizing seminar with 82 members of the 
Union Portuaria Santa Marta local. 
 On February 26, 2010 the SC supported the UP Santa Marta local to conduct an assembly 
with 129 participants to evaluate and plan for continued affiliation, and discuss the 
union’s development of a proposal for eventual collective bargaining. 
 On February 27-28, 2010 the SC supported the palm worker organizers in Galán, 
Magdalena Medio, to conduct a 2-day organizing workshop with 47 palm workers and 
community leaders. 
 On February 30-31, 2010 the SC supported the palm worker organizers in Yarima, 
Magdalena Medio, to conduct a 2-day organizing workshop with 38 palm workers and 
community leaders. 
 On March 23-24, 2010 the SC supported the UP and the Ministry of Social Protection to 
conduct a meeting on future development of the national ports union, and cooperation in 
the reorganization of the ports functions with respect to employment. 
 On March 26-27, 2010 the SC supported the national ports workers union, UP, to 
participate in a presentation by the Ministry of Social Protection (MSP) regarding 
experiences with the contrato sindical. The MSP presented examples of several 
companies and their unions using the contrato sindical in Medellín. 
 On March 4-6, 2010 the SC supported the national ports workers union, the UP, to 
participate in the founding assembly of the national transport workers union, SNTT, in 
Bogotá. Ports union representatives from the four national ports participated in the 
activity representing their sub-sector and its particular problems, opportunities, and 
aspirations. 
 On March 17, 2010 the SC supported the National Union of Public Service Workers to 
conduct a regional assembly in Bucaramanga, Santander, with 195 members from 17 
municipalities. The participating local unions initiated the process of affiliation to the 
national union. The process will result in approximately 800 new affiliates to the 
national union. 
 In the month of February 2010, the SC supported the Union Portuaria to develop a 
proposal for legislative reform to clarify the legal parameters of the contrato sindical as 
a form of labor contracting, and provide a sales tax exemption (IVA) for port operators 
that contract with ports unions via a contrato sindical. 
 In March 2010, the SC provided technical support to the public sector union, 
Sinalserpub-CUT, and to analyze the Constitutional Court sentence C-614 / 2009, and 
develop educational material about the ruling for dissemination. The ruling requires that 
any and all workers that perform work in the essential functions of an enterprise, are 
supervised by the enterprise, and receive remuneration for their work be covered and 
protected under the labor code. This ruling incorporates the findings of a number of 
previous decisions in lower courts, demonstrates consistency in the legal determinations 
regarding labor relations, and indicates measures that must be taken to ensure 
constitutional compliance in labor contracting. The application of this sentence requires 
labor code protection for the vast majority of workers presently contracted under 
cooperatives, subcontracting, temp-contracting, civil contracts, and other non-labor 
contracting widely used in Colombia. 
 On March 7, 2010, the SC supported Sintraimagra and palm worker organizers in Meta to 
conduct a 1-day organizing workshop with 19 palm workers and community leaders in 
the town of Cumural, Meta. 
 On March 12, 2010, the SC conducted a workshop with the national ports workers union, 
the UP, to present the contrato sindical as a possible strategy for formalizing the 
workforce and collective bargaining with the port operators in Cartagena. Forty members 
of the Cartagena local participated. 
 On March 15, 2010, the SC supported the Palm worker organizers in Magdalena Medio, 
to conduct a one-day organizing meeting with 23 palm workers and community leaders in 
Yarima, Magdalena Medio. 
 On March 27-28, 2010, the SC supported Sintraimagra to conduct a 2-day workshop with 
Palm workers that are members of associated work cooperatives (CTAs). 
 From April – June, 2010 the SC supported Sintraimagra and palm worker organizers in 
Meta to conduct 14 days of organizing visits and meetings with workers in the palm 
sector in Meta. The meetings serve as pre-workshop first contact with workers, in which 
the organizers learn about the concerns of the workers and inform the workers about the 
union. 
 On April 10, 2010, the SC supported an organizing meeting with 22 ports workers in 
Barranquilla. The focus of the one-day activity was expansion of union coverage and 
collective bargaining strategy. 
 On May 5, 2010, the SC conducted a 3 hour meeting with USAID, USAID contractors, 
and other NGOs working on labor issues. The purpose of the meeting was to share 
information about programs and developments in labor rights in the Colombia. The 
Director of USAID, Ken Yamashita, as well as representatives of the US Embassy 
participated. 
 On May 5, 2010, the SC supported an organizing meeting with 26 active and retired port 
workers in Cali to form the Cali branch of the Union Portuaria. The focus of the one-day 
activity was to discuss the strategic reasons for including pensioned ports workers in the 
union (financial support, logistic support, and support with infrastructure). 
 On May 22, 2010, the SC supported an organizing assembly with 124 port workers in 
Santa Marta. The focus of the one-day activity was expansion of union coverage and 
collective bargaining strategy. 
 On April 9, 2010, the SC supported the National Union of Public Service Workers to 
conduct a regional assembly in Jamundi, Valle de Cauca. 251 workers from 6 
municipalities participated, and initiated the process of affiliation to the national union. 
 On April 30, 2010, the SC supported the National Union of Public Service Workers to 
conduct a regional assembly in Cali, Valle de Cauca. 542 workers from 16 municipalities 
participated, and initiated the process of affiliation to the national union. 
 On May 26, 2010, the SC supported the National Union of Public Service Workers to 
conduct a regional assembly in Bogota, Cundinamarca. 86 workers from 6 municipalities 
participated, and initiated the process of affiliation to the national union. 
 On June 5, 2010, the SC supported the National Union of Public Service Workers to 
conduct a regional assembly in Pasto of workers from Cauca, Nariño, and Putumayo. 
118 workers from the three regions participated, and initiated the process of affiliation to 
the national union. 
 On April 10-11, 2010, the SC conducted a two-day workshop with regional leaders of the 
Federation of Artisan Workers of Colombia. The focus of the workshop was negotiating 
proposals with local governments. 
 On April 17-18, 2010, the SC supported the Palm worker organizers in El Llanito, 
Magdalena Medio, to conduct a 2-day organizing workshop with 28 palm workers and 
community leaders. 
 On April 17-18, 2010, the SC supported Sintraimagra and Palm worker organizers in 
Meta to conduct a 1-day organizing workshop with 90 palm workers and community 
leaders in the town of Dinamarca, Meta. Working conditions and health care were key in 
the discussions. 
 On April 17, 2010, the SC supported an organizing meeting with 21 port workers in 
Barranquilla. The focus of the one-day activity was expansion of union coverage and 
collective bargaining strategy. 
 On April 24, 2010, the SC supported the Palm worker organizers in the Magdalena 
Medio region to conduct a one-day workshop with 26 palm workers and community 
leaders on organizing in the palm sector in the region. The participants are team leaders 
from the various communities in the region. 
 On May 1, 2010, the SC supported the palm worker organizers in the Magdalena Medio 
region to conduct a one-day workshop/meeting to share information about conditions in 
the different palm plantations in the region, and the progress on organizing workers in the 
different communities or plantations. 
 On May 8, 2010 the SC supported an organizing meeting with 74 ports workers in 
Barranquilla. The focus of the one-day activity was expansion of union coverage. 
 On May 8, 2010, the SC supported an organizing meeting with 55 ports workers in 
Cartagena. The focus of the one-day activity was expansion of union coverage and 
collective bargaining strategy. 
 On May 12-14, 2010, the SC conducted a national training and planning workshop with 
the national and regional organizing departments of the CUT. The activity was conducted 
in preparation for a national campaign to increase affiliation in industrial sector unions in 
education, health, transportation, agro-industrial, energy-mining, and public service 
sectors. 
 On May 12-14, 2010, the SC conducted a three day strategic planning activity with the 
national association of social workers, Asincoltras. The purpose of the activity was to 
evaluate the state of employment and organization in the sector (public health), and 
develop a plan to reorganize social workers in the sector. 
 On May 16-17, 2010, the SC supported Sintraimagra and Palm worker organizers in 
Meta to conduct a 2-day organizing workshop with 70 palm workers and community 
leaders in the town of Dinamarca, Meta. 
 On May 22-23, 2010, the SC and Sintraimagra conducted a 2-day organizing workshop 
with 136 palm workers and community leaders in the town of Palmeros, Meta. 
 On May 29, 2010, the SC supported the palm worker organizers in the Magdalena Medio 
region to conduct a one-day workshop/meeting to share information about conditions in 
the different palm plantations in the region, and the progress on organizing workers in 
different communities or plantations. 
 On June 4, 2010, the SC supported an organizing meeting with 51 port workers in 
Cartagena. The focus of the one-day activity was expansion of union coverage and 
collective bargaining strategy. 
 On June 19, 2010 the SC supported an organizing meeting with 41 active and retired port 
workers in Buenaventura and Cali. The focus of the meeting was organizing sub￾contracted workers into the UP and developing the proposal for the Contrato Sindical. 
 On June 26, 2010, the SC supported the Palm worker organizers in the Magdalena Medio 
region to conduct a one-day workshop/meeting to share information about conditions in 
different palm plantations in the region, and the progress on organizing workers in 
different communities or plantations. 
 On July 10, 2010, the SC supported the National Ports Union (Unión Portuaria – UP) to 
conduct a regional assembly of workers from Buenaventura and Barranquilla. The 
meeting took place in Baranquilla and focused on the contract proposal and proposal for 
legal reforms for the regulation of port workers. 
 On July 15, 2010, the SC supported an organizing meeting with 29 ports workers from 
Buenaventura and Cali. The focus of the one-day activity was the approval of the 
collective bargaining proposal to be presented to the new government and ports 
operators, and organizing in Buenaventura. 
 On July 21, 2010, the SC supported palm worker organizers in the Magdalena Medio 
region to conduct a one-day workshop-meeting with 22 local leaders to share information 
about organizing efforts in the different palm plantations in the region, and form a 
regional coordinating body. The new coordinating body includes palm workers, 
community organizations in the palm zones, and three existing unions: Sintraproaceites, 
Sintrapalma and Sintrainagro. 
 On August 11, 2010, the SC and Sintraimagra conducted a 1-day seminar on organizing 
and occupational health and safety in the palm sector in Meta. 88 local activists and 
leaders participated. 
 On August 25, 2010, the SC supported the National Ports Union to conduct a local 
assembly with 30 local leaders in Cartagena. The focus of the meeting was the contract 
proposal and proposal for legal reforms for the regulation of ports workers. 
 On August 28 and 29, 2010, the SC and Sintraimagra conducted a 2-day seminar on 
organizing and occupational health and safety in the palm sector in Meta. 102 local 
activists and leaders from the Dinamarca area participated. Dr. Juan Vicente Conde, 
specialist in occupational health and safety, served as a consultant and trainer. 
 On August 29, 2010, the SC supported the National Ports Union to conduct an assembly 
for local leaders of the Buenaventura chapter of the UP. The focus of the meeting was 
the collective bargaining proposal and proposal for legal reforms for the regulation of 
port workers. Thirty local leaders participated. 
 On September 15, 2010, the SC supported the National Ports Union to conduct a regional 
assembly in Santa Marta. The focus of the meeting was the contract proposal and 
proposal for legal reforms for the regulation of port workers. Thirty-seven local leaders 
participated. 
 Between July 1 and September 30, 2010, the SC supported the new union of 
subcontracted public sector workers, ASODISOPS, to conduct a series of 20 mini￾workshops with public sector workers in the District of Bogotá. The workshops are 90 
minutes in duration and are focused on possibilities for organizing and establishing legal 
protections for sub-contracted public sector workers in the District. 
 Between July – September, 2010, the SC supported Sintraimagra to conduct a series of 15 
mini-workshops with palm workers in the Meta region. 
 On July 7, 2010 the SC supported the National Union of Public Service Workers to 
conduct a Departmental Assembly to present legal proposals for guaranteeing labor rights 
within the process of decentralization of city governments. The activity was conducted in 
Barranquilla with 213 participants. 
 On July 3-5, 2010, the SC and Sintraimagra conducted a 3-day leadership development 
workshop with 27 palm workers and community leaders from the Meta region. Working 
conditions, organizing sub-contracted workers, and health and safety were the main 
topics. 
 On July 5, 2010, the SC supported the National Ports Union to conduct a 1-day training 
workshop with 37 local leaders. The workshop focused on basic union functions for new 
leaders of the recently established Buenaventura chapter of the Union. 
 On July 19-24, 2010, the SC and Sintraimagra conducted a 6-day leadership development 
workshop with 15 palm workers from the Meta region. The training session focused on 
basic union functions, working conditions, organizing sub-contracted workers, and health 
and safety.
 On July 21, 2010, the SC supported the National Ports Union to conduct a 1-day training 
workshop with 37 local leaders on basic union functions for new leaders of the recently 
established Buenaventura chapter of the union. This was the first in a series of leadership 
training workshops geared to build skills of a core group of leaders in the new union. 
 On July 27, 2010, the SC supported the National Ports Union to launch a regional 
campaign for the formalization of working conditions in the ports. The initiative is 
supported by the Corporación Veeduría Social de Cartagena, the Fundación de Puerto 
Buenaventrua, and the Red de Veedurías del Caribe. The union produced 25,000 
pamphlets on basic worker rights to be distributed throughout the ports. 
 On August 3-8, 2010, the SC supported palm worker organizers in the Magdalena Medio 
region to conduct four one-day community events to establish community support for 
organizing in the palm plantations surrounding the communities. The public events were 
conducted in Puerto Wilches, Sogamoso, San Alberto and Yarima. 
 On August 13-16, 2010, the SC supported the National Ports Union to conduct a 3-day 
training workshop with 40 local leaders on basic union functions for new leaders of the 
recently established Buenaventura chapter of the union. . 
 On September 24, 2010, the SC supported the National Union of Public Service Workers 
to conduct a Departmental Assembly with 235 participants to present legal proposals for 
guaranteeing labor rights in the context of decentralization of city governments. The 
activity was conducted in Bogotá in the compound of the National Assembly, and 
received national televised coverage on the National Assembly channel. 
 On September 27, 2010, the SC supported the National Union of Public Service Workers 
to conduct a Departmental Assembly in Cali with 400 participants to present legal 
proposals for guaranteeing labor rights within the context of decentralization of city 
governments. 
 In September 2010, the SC provided technical support to the Nation Ports Union (UP) to 
develop a proposal for the formalization of labor in the ports sector. The UP proposal 
coincides with the announced policy of the national government to formalize 500,000 
jobs. 
 On September 11, 2010, the SC supported the National Ports Union to conduct a 1-day 
training workshop with 37 local leaders on basic union functions for new leaders of the 
recently established Buenaventura chapter of the union. 
 Between September 20 and October 12, 2010, the SC supported the National Ports Union 
(UP) to conduct local organizing visits with ports workers in Buenaventura. The visits 
were conducted over 21 days, and resulted in the affiliation of 50 workers to the 
Buenaventura branch of the UP. 
 Between October 1 and December 15, 2010, the SC supported the new union of 
subcontracted public sector workers, ASODISOPS, to conduct a series of 14 group 
information-organizing meetings with public sector workers in the District of Bogotá. 
The new union has affiliated 350 members. 
 Between October 1 and December 15, 2010, the SC supported the new union of 
subcontracted social workers, ASINCOLTRAS, to conduct a series of nine group 
information-organizing meetings with social workers in the public health service. 
 Between October 1 and November 30, 2010, the SC supported Sintraimagra to conduct a 
series of 11 organizing meetings in plantations in the Meta region. Activists visited 
plantations employing workers in service cooperatives to inform them of possibilities to 
organize and improve working conditions. 
 On October 7, 2010, the SC supported the National Union of Public Service Workers to 
conduct a Regional Assembly with 59 participants to form a new union branch in Velez, 
Santander. 
 On October 7, 2010, the SC supported the National Union of Public Service Workers to 
conduct a Departmental Assembly to present legal proposals for guaranteeing labor rights 
within the process of decentralization of city governments. The activity was conducted in 
Cartagena with 155 participants. A new chapter of Sinalserpub was formed in Bolivar. 
 On October 12, 2010, the SC supported an organizing meeting with ports workers in 
Buenaventura. The UP proposal for formalizing employment in the ports was presented 
to the workers as part of the organizing platform that union promoters will use in 
recruitment activities. 
 On October 13 and 14, 2010, the SC provided legal support to Sintraimagra to provide 
legal support to several palm workers who were fired for talking to union representatives. 
 On October 16, 2010, the SC supported an organizing meeting with ports workers in 
Barranquilla. The UP proposal for formalizing employment in the ports was presented to 
the workers as part of the organizing platform that union promoters will use in 
recruitment activities. 
 On October 16 and 17, 2010, the SC and Sintraimagra conducted a 2-day organizing 
workshop with 21 local activists in the palm sector in Meta. The focus of the activity was 
organizing sub-contracted worker on the palm plantations. 
 On October 23-24, 2010, the SC supported CUT to conduct a 2-day training workshop 
with new leaders of the Buenaventura chapter of the national ports union, UP. The focus 
of the training was basic union administration, records keeping, and relationship to the 
national confederation. 
 On October 24, 2010, the SC supported an organizing meeting with heavy equipment 
operators in the Buenaventura ports. The focus of the activity was the UP proposal for 
formalizing employment in he ports and the benefits for skilled ports equipment 
operators. 
 On October 24, 2010, the SC supported an assembly with ports workers in Santa Marta. 
The UP proposal for formalizing employment in the ports was presented to the workers 
as part of the organizing platform that union promoters will use in recruitment activities. 
 On November 6 and 7, 2010, the SC and Sintraimagra conducted a 2-day organizing 
workshop with 69 regional leaders and activists in the palm sector in Meta. The focus of 
the activity was organizing and health and safety. 
 On November 12, 2010, the SC supported an organizing meeting with ports workers in 
Barranquilla. The focus of the meeting was organizing progress and strategy. In 
addition, the UP proposal for formalizing employment in the ports was further discussed 
with as part of the organizing platform that union promoters will use in recruitment 
activities. 
 On November 17, 2010, the SC supported the UP to bring 6 leaders from the four 
principal maritime ports to conduct meetings with the Minister and VM of Social 
Protection and Labor Relations, and the Vice President of Colombia. 
 On November 18, 2010, the SC supported a national seminar/assembly with ports 
workers from the four major ports in Colombia, (Santa Marta, Barranquilla, Cartagena, 
and Buenaventura). 
 On December 5, 2010, the SC and Sintraimagra conducted a 1-day organizing meeting 
and health and safety workshop with 57 local palm workers of Veracruz, Meta. The 
focus of the activity was organizing and health and safety. 
 Between September 1 and November 30, 2010, the SC collaborated with the National 
Union School (ENS) to provided technical support to the three labor centers to analyze 
legislative initiatives and emerging jurisprudence and develop a platform for legislative 
changes to improve the labor rights legal framework in the Colombia. 
 In the months of October through December 2010, the SC conducted 4, four-hour 
meetings with the confederation lawyers and one 2-day workshop with constitutional 
experts in the ENS to 1) develop a legal strategy to support organizing effort based on 
recent high court rulings based on “preeminence of reality” in labor contracting, and 2) 
develop a union platform for legal reforms for labor rights legislation. 
 In the months of October through December 2010, the SC and the UP conducted four 
meetings with the Vice Minister of Labor Relations and one meeting with the Vice 
President. The focus of the meetings was the formalization of employment in the ports 
sector, and the work of the UP. 
 On January 10, 2011, the SC supported an organizing meeting with 317 ports workers in 
Barranquilla. The Port Workers Union (UP) proposal for formalization of employment 
and the UP complaint before the MSP were presented to the workers as part of the 
organizing platform that union promoters will use in recruitment activities. Similar 
activities were conducted on January 18th with 19 workers in Barranquilla, February 4th
with 80 workers in Cartagena, and on February 5th with 34 workers in Barranquilla. (Also 
applies to C-2 activity 1)
 On January 24-27, 2011, the SC provided economic and technical supported to the 
National Union of Public Service Workers, Sinalserpub, to conduct a Departmental 
Seminar and Assembly in Santander. 
 In February 2011, the SC provided economic and technical support to the National Ports 
Workers Union (UP) in Buenaventura to identify and reach out to community 
organizations to build support for the labor formalization initiative promoted by the UP. 
 
 On February 21-23, 2011, the SC and Sintraimagra conducted organizing meetings with 
local palm workers of Veracruz and Dinamarca, Meta. The focus of the activity was 
labor contracting methods, organizing and health and safety. 
 On February 23, 2011, the SC provided economic and technical support to the national 
port workers’ union (341 port workers participated) to conduct a national seminar on 
reforms of labor contracting, negotiating and collective bargaining. 
 On February 27, 2011, the SC and Sintraimagra conducted a workshop with 17 Afro￾Colombian palm workers and supporters in the Afro Colombian community in Meta. 
The focus of the workshop was working conditions and discrimination in the palm 
industry, and linking workplace and community issues in the Afro Colombian community 
in Meta. 
 On February 27, 2011, the SC and Sintraimagra conducted an assembly of 72 palm 
workers contracted through cooperatives. 
 During the month of March 2011, the SC provided financial and technical support to 
Sintraimagra to conducted educational meetings with local palm workers of Veracruz, 
Dinamarca, Acacias and Guaymal in Meta. 
 On March 22 and 23, 2011, the SC provided economic and technical support to the 
national port worker’s union to conduct a two-day training with 50 crane operators on 
negotiation and collective bargaining, focusing on developing a bargaining proposal. 
 On March 24-26, 2011, the SC provided economic and technical supported the National 
Union of Public Service Workers to conduct a Departmental seminar with 151 
participants, to present legal proposals for transitioning workers contracted with civil 
contracts (OPS) to provisional direct labor contracts, and guaranteeing labor rights 
within the process of decentralization of city governments. 
 On April 2, 2011, the SC supported the National Port Workers Union to conduct a one￾day meeting with the Vice President, Angelino Garzón, and 47 union leaders from the 
four ports. The focus of the meeting was labor conditions and labor contracting systems 
in the ports, and possibilities for formalizing labor contracting in the sector. 
 On April 15, 2011, the SC supported the UP-Barranquilla to conduct a one-day seminar 
with 78 ports workers on labor conditions and labor contracting systems in the ports. 
 On April 16, 2011, the SC supported the UP-Santa Marta to conduct a one-day seminar 
with 160 port workers on labor conditions and labor contracting systems in the ports. 
 On April 17, 2011, the SC supported the UP-Buenaventura to conduct a one-day seminar 
with 117 ports workers on labor conditions and labor contracting systems in the ports. 
 On April 25, May 6, 17, 19, 20, 21, 30 and 31, 2011, the SC provided economic and 
support to the national port worker union in Buenaventura to perform worksite visits to 
gather information regarding working and contracting conditions, and inform workers of 
the Santos-Obama Labor Action Plan (S-O LAP) and the UP initiative for formalizing 
work in the ports. The organizing activity is being developed to produce demand-side 
pressure for implementation of the S-O LAP. 
 On May 10, 2011, the SC supported an organizing meeting with 22 ports workers in 
Barranquilla. The UP proposal for formalization of employment and the UP complaint 
before the MSP were presented to the workers as part of the organizing platform that 
union promoters will use in recruitment activities. The complaint focuses on the 
fraudulent use of subcontracting. 
 On May 7-12, 2011, the SC provided technical support to palm workers of Sintrainagro￾Minas on collective bargaining. The union had gone on strike three weeks earlier in 
response the company’s refusal to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement, and its 
insistence on elimination of direct employment contracting. A resolution was negotiated 
after 60 days on strike, establishing 20 additional direct, permanent employment 
contracts, bringing the total number of direct, permanent contracts to 140 of the 700 
workers on the palm plantation. 
 In the period of May-June, 2011, the SC conducted 37 meetings with local, regional and 
national union leaders and Colombian government officials to develop work plans to 
implementation of the Labor Action Plan. 
 In the period March-May, 2011, the SC provided technical and advocacy support to the 
three labor centers and the public sector unions in the analysis and drafting of the draft 
decree which will regulate article 16 of the labor code, and derogate Decree 535 of 2009. 
The new decree represents an important advance in the rights of association and 
collective bargaining of public employees. On May 25, the President and the labor 
sector, represented by the three labor centers, signed an accord supporting the draft 
decree. The decree now awaits the President’s signature to become law. 
 In the period April-June, 2011 the SC provided technical and advocacy support to the 
three labor centers in the analysis and drafting of the draft decree that will create the new 
Ministry of Labor. On request, the SC provided detailed technical suggestions regarding 
the structure and functions of the proposed new ministry to some interested parties 
involved in the design of the ministry and the drafting of the decree for its creation. This 
work remains in progress. 
 In the period May-June, 2011, the SC provided technical and advocacy support to the 
three labor centers to analyze the Decree that will reform Article 200 of the penal code 
(criminalizing actions to deny workers’ freedom of association) and to formulate 
revisions to correct the serious deficiencies in the decree, which do not protect labor 
activists against persecution. 
 On June 9, 2011, the SC conducted a one-day workshop with 21 local ports workers 
leaders on labor conditions, labor contracting systems in the ports, and aspects of the 
Santos-Obama Labor Action Plan, singed on April 7th, and the relationship to the UP 
initiative to formalize work in the ports. 
 On July 31, the SC conducted a seminar with 112 participants from the palm sector in 
Villavicencio, Meta. 
 In August 2011, the SC provided economic and technical support to the Union Portuaria 
(Ports Union, or UP) to prepare a proposal for a meeting with the Vice President of 
Colombia, Angelino Garzon. 
 In August 2011, the SC provided technical support to the national oil workers’ union, 
Union Sindical Obrera (USO), to prepare a proposal for a meeting with the Vice 
Presidency and the initiation of a negotiating process in Meta. Given the persistent use 
fraudulent sub-contracting and continued violations of labor rights in the petroleum 
sector in Meta, Vice President Garzon inaugurated negotiation round tables in the region 
on August 3, 2011. 
 On August 1, the SC provided economic and technical support to the UP to prepare a 
report and meet with the Vice Minister of Labor and the Ombudsman (procurador) for 
labor issues. 
 On August 14, the SC provided economic and technical support to the UP to conduct 
educational workshop/meeting with 32 port operators who are labor sub-contractors. 
 On August 18-20, 2011 the SC provided economic support to the Sintraimagra 
agricultural workers’ union to conduct follow-up meetings with local leaders and workers 
in the palm sector in Meta to track developments in employment relations following the 
promulgation of Decree 2025. On August 20, Sintraimagra leaders met with local leaders 
to discuss possible next steps in organizing strategy. 
 On August 23-26, the SC provided economic and technical support to USO to conduct 
worksite organizing visits and prepare for negotiations with various employers in the 
Meta region. As part of the support, the SC conducted a workshop with 56 participants 
on August 23, 2011. 
 On August 27, the SC provided economic and technical support to the UP to conduct an 
assembly with 116 port workers from Cartagena. 
 On August 27, the SC provided economic and technical support to the UP to conduct an 
assembly with 94 port workers from Barranquilla. 
 On August 28, the SC provided economic and technical support to the Union Portuaria to 
conduct an assembly with 53 port workers from Buenaventura. 
 On August 30, the SC provided economic support to Sintraimagra to conduct follow-up 
meetings with local leaders and workers in the palm sector in Meta to track developments 
in employment relations following the promulgation of Decree 2025. The union also met 
with managers of five different CTA cooperatives. 
 In September 2011, the SC provided technical assistance to the security union, 
Sintrabrinks, to develop a collective bargaining proposal and strategy for upcoming 
collective bargaining. 
 On September 2, 2011 the SC provided economic and technical support to the UP to 
conduct a leadership workshop with 58 port workers from Santa Marta. 
 On September 10-11, 2011 the SC provided economic support to Sintraimagra to conduct 
follow-up meetings with local leaders and workers in the palm sector in Meta to track 
developments in employment relations following the promulgation of Decree 2025. 
 On September 17-19, 2011 the SC provided technical assistance and training to 
Sintrainagro and workers of four plantations in the Puerto Wilches, Magdalena Medio 
region via mini-work shops. On September 20, the SC met with the Vice Minister of 
Labor of Colombia’s Ministry of Social Protection (MSP) to advocate for a solution in 
the Puerto Wilches conflict. 
 On September 21, 2011 the SC provided economic and technical support to Sintraimagra 
to conduct follow-up meetings with workers in the palm sector in Meta. 
 In September 2011, the SC provided technical support to the UP to prepare for meetings 
with the Vice Minister of Labor of the MSP and the Vice President regarding employer 
reprisals against UP members and formalizing labor in the ports sector. 
 In the third quarter of 2011, the SC provided on-going technical support to GM workers 
regarding occupational health and safety, organizing and negotiating. 
 In September and October, 2011, the SC provided economic and technical support to the 
Sintrainagro agricultural workers’ union at Puerto Wilches. During this period, the SC 
accompanied the union during a labor dispute with palm oil companies, providing 
technical support to reach a resolution to the dispute. The negotiations included the 
Ministry of Labor and the Vice President’s office, and ultimately led to an agreement to 
begin the process of formalizing the contracting in the sector. 
 In September and October, 2011, the SC conducted eight mini-workshops with a total of 
288 activists in the palm sector in Magdalena Medio, with Sintrainagro at Puerto 
Wilches. The focus of the activities was conflict management and negotiation. 
 On October 5-8, 2011, the SC provided technical support to Sinalserpub and eight public 
sector unions to unify into a single national union. This activity was conducted as follow￾up to a series of previous activities in support of the public sector organizing and 
unification process. The unions merged into a new national public sector union, SUNET, 
on October 8. 
 On October 11, 2011, the SC provided economic and technical support to Sintraimagra to 
conduct a two-day training workshop with 27 palm activists on organizing and 
bargaining. 
 On October 22, 2011 the SC provided economic and technical support to Sintrainagro at 
Puerto Wilches, to conduct an assembly of 162 local leaders from 6 palm plantations in 
the region. The focus of the assembly was bargaining positions and conflict management 
during the labor dispute. 
 On October 21-22, 2011 the SC provided economic and technical support to Sintraimagra 
to conduct worksite visits to eight palm plantations to inform workers of their rights, 
organizing and bargaining initiatives. 
 In November 2011, the SC provided technical and economic support to the national ports 
union, Union Portuaria, in Buenaventura, to conduct worksite and house visits to inform 
workers of their rights, the new legal prescriptions for eliminating sub-contracting and 
the UP initiative to formalize work in the ports. 
 On November 6-7, 2011 the SC provided economic and technical support to Sintraimagra 
to conduct one two-day training workshop with 20 palm activists on organizing and 
bargaining.