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Social Justice FundDefending Public Services: Canadian and Colombian Workers on the Front Lines Tour, May 6 – 21, 2004
What is the Front Lines Tour? The Defending Public Services: Canadian and Colombian Workers on the Front Lines Tour is a joint project sponsored by three public sector unions – the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) in conjunction with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). The Front Lines Tour will consist of a delegation of six public sector trade unionists and activists from Colombia who will participate in a variety of different events organized by CUPE, CUPW and the PSAC in both the Atlantic and Western regions of Canada, May 6-21, 2004. Click here for poster in PDF format Funded in part by the PSAC Social Justice Fund, the Front Line Tour will provide opportunities for Colombian trade unionists and activists to engage in discussions with PSAC, CUPW and CUPE members about their struggles to stop the privatization of public services and the impact of privatization to date on workers, services and communities in Colombia. Why a Front Lines Tour? Our current federal government and many of our provincial and municipal governments are increasingly ready to hand over responsibility for more and more of our public services, arguing that private corporations and Public Private Partnerships (P3s) can provide these services more efficiently and cheaply. PSAC, CUPE and CUPW members are on the front line every day defending quality public services for Canadians because we know that profit driven services ultimately result in reduced services, user fees, lower wages and benefits for the workers delivering the services, and a lack of accountability for the services to Canadians. All over the world, private corporations are demanding the right to deliver what are now public services and are being supported in their bid to do so by governments and the policies of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organization (WTO). In Colombia, trade unions are courageously fighting an extremely repressive government that is aggressively and thoroughly restructuring the Colombian public sector through privatization as recommended by the IMF. And trade unionists in Colombia continue to fight privatization and corruption despite it being the most dangerous place in the world to be a trade union activist – since 1986, close to 4,000 trade unionists have been assassinated. Objectives of the Tour The Front Lines Tour will emphasize the critical role played by the Colombian public sector unions in defending public services through political leadership and resistance strategies. It will deepen our understanding of privatization globally and the role of corporate globalization policies. It will also allow CUPW, CUPE and the PSAC to create a base of interest, commitment and capacity in each of our unions and together in key locals and communities for more strategic work on privatization with an international link. Atlantic Tour and Delegation An Atlantic regional committee with representatives from PSAC, CUPE, CUPW and the CLC has been organized. Together with a regional Tour Coordinator, they are beginning to organize meetings and events in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and possibly Prince Edward Island. Details of the events will soon be posted on the PSAC Atlantic website. For more information about the Atlantic tour, contact Cathy Murphy at 902-443-3541. More information on each member of the delegation will be provided later as available: • Dora Lilia Gómez; General Secretary, SINTRAPOSTAL SINTRAPOSTAL represents approximately 3000 members, a third of which are women. 85% of the postal service in Colombia is handled by private corporations and the government has indicated that it intends to privatize the remaining services. Sister Gomez is based in Bogotá , has been active in her union for many years and is also involved in coalition of women's organizations working for peace in Colombia. • Dario Restrepo Carmona; CORPENCA CORPENCA is an NGO that works closely with the union and social movements in Colombia. Brother Carmona is based in Medellin and will address the privatization of natural resources in Colombia, including water, and the impact of severe budget cuts to publicly run environmental programs. • Ana Beatriz Saldarriaga; ASDECCOL – The Public Service Association of Public Auditors Sister Saldarriaga is based in Cali and is a member of ASDECCOL which represents workers responsible for auditing and fiscal monitoring in Colombia at the national, provincial and municipal levels. Western Tour and Delegation The Western Tour is being organized by a regional committee with representatives from PSAC, CUPW, CUPE and Co Development Canada. Meetings and events will take place in British Colombia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. For more information about the Western Tour, contact Janet Routledge at 604-430-5631. More information on each of member of the delegation will be provided later as available. The Colombian delegation, from left to right: Dora Lilia Gomez, Ana Beatriz Saldarriaga, Jorge Albin Anaya, Maria Eva Villate, Dario Restrepo • Maria Eva Villate; Vice-president of the Union of Public Employees of the Public Ombudsman (ASDEP), affiliated to FUTEC, Federation of State Workers and Professionals Affiliated to Public Services International (PSI), this union represents approximately 800 workers in the Ombudsman's Office which is responsible for receiving and processing human rights violations. Based in Bogotá, Sister Villate will provide examples and an analysis on the link between the fight against privatization and the persecution of trade unionists. • Jorge Alvin Anaya; Treasurer and Finance Secretary for the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Colombia (CUT). Based in Bogotá, Brother Anaya is an elected officer with the CUT, the largest labour confederation in Colombia. Brother Anaya comes from the teaching sector and was active for many years with the teachers' union in Cordoba. • Luis Enrique Imbachi; Active member of the Union of Municipal Workers of CALI (SINTRAEMCALI) is in the process of confirming their representative on the tour. SINTRAEMCALI represents about 3800 members and has taken a strong and militant stand for accessible public services and against privatization and corruption. It has been undeterred by threats and murders against its members and leadership and has often used direct action tactics to confront the government in their bids to privatize public services. Other Meetings Following the regional tours, the delegation will meet again in Ottawa to debrief, meet with the elected leadership of the PSAC, CUPE, CUPW and the CLC, and meet with representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and selected Members of Parliament. General information on the Front Line Tour will be posted on the PSAC website and regional specific questions about events or how you can get involved should be directed to Cathy Murphy in the Atlantic or Janet Routledge in the West. The Front Lines Tour National Coordinator, Louise Casselman, can be reached at 613-560-5494 or at cassell@psac.com.
Canadian Union of Public Employees Canadian Union of Postal Workers Public Service Alliance of Canada Canadian Labour Congress
Defending Public Services: Canadian and Colombian Workers on the Frontlines Tour May 6-21, 2004
The Frontlines Tour was sponsored by three public sector Unions – the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), in conjunction with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). The Tour consisted of a delegation of five public sector trade unionists and activists from Colombia who participated in a variety of different events in a number of communities, both large and small, in Nova Scotia , New Brunswick , Prince Edward Island , Newfoundland , and in British Columbia , Alberta and Saskatchewan . The Frontlines Tour has been successful in meeting, and even surpassing, its stated objectives. The testimonies, evidence and analysis of our Colombian Sisters and Brothers helped us to further understand the devastating impacts of the neo-liberal agenda being implemented by the Colombian government – the erosion of the public sector, and the promotion of free trade, privatization and global corporate interests, to the detriment of working people. State sponsored repression and violence are being used to implement this neo-liberal agenda. Colombian trade Unions and the Colombian popular movements are key targets. We made concrete links between what is happening to the public sector and to public services in Colombia , and the privatization of public services here in Canada . Trade Unions are the principle obstacle to the privatization of key public services in both Colombia and Canada . We support the call of our Colombian Sisters and Brothers for solidarity in our common struggles against corporate globalization policies. We support the call for a rejection of the neo-liberal privatization agenda being implemented by the Colombian government. We support the call for a negotiated peace with justice in Colombia . We recognize the need for ongoing acts of solidarity in exposing the continuing violation of fundamental workers' rights in Colombia . We recognize the need to support the struggle of Colombian workers to have the right to freely organize into trade unions and to engage in free collective bargaining with the right to strike. We recognize the need to denounce the use of violence against Colombians who are, through their Unions and social movements, actively fighting privatization and attendant state restructuring. We recognize the need to monitor the Canadian corporate and government activities focused on trade and corporate profit, without considering the social impacts of these actions. We recognize the need to build on the relationships we have created through the Frontlines Tour. We are committed to developing a plan to follow up on the areas identified for further collaboration and support, including education, capacity-building, communications and networking. CUPW, CUPE, the PSAC, together with the CLC, are committed to meeting in the very near future in order to develop a follow-up plan for future Canada-Columbia solidarity work. We committed to working together with other labour and social organizations in Canada to consolidate, coordinate and facilitate our ongoing solidarity work at the local, national and international levels. Together, we stand in solidarity with all our Colombian Sisters and Brothers,
Nycole Turmel Deborah Bourque National President National President Public Service Alliance of Canada Canadian Union of Postal (PSAC) Workers
Paul Moist Kenneth V. Georgetti National President President Canadian Union of Public Employees Canadian Labour Congress (CUPE) (CLC)
May 28, 2004
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