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04 November 2008
COLOMBIA: Privatisation of refuse collection services in city of Cali,
derogation of collective bargaining agreement and mass redundancies.
PSI is asking its
affiliates to send letters of protest in support of refuse collection
workers from the Municipal Refuse Collection and Waste Disposal Corporation
(EMSIRVA) in the town of Cali, Colombia. The Directorate of Public Services,
a national body which follows guidelines laid down by the government under
Alvaro Uribe Vélez, has initiated a privatisation process which will result
in a unilaterally imposed revision of the collective bargaining agreement.
The new 'agreement' would disregard the rights and benefits won by the trade
union SINTRAEMSIRVA; redefine the workers' legal status (they will no longer
be classified as public sector workers); and lead to some 230 redundancies.
After being taken into administration by the Directorate of
Public Services over two years ago, EMSIRVA has now handed over refuse
collection services to a private operator called INTERASEO, with obvious
consequences in terms of price increases and lost resources. In addition, three
other service areas are to be handed over to private companies, which are due to
start up operations in Cali from January 2009.
To facilitate the
privatisation of the refuse collection services, the Government ordered the
renegotiation of the collective bargaining agreement, a process which began on
19th
September 2008. The proposal presented by the Directorate of Public Services
would undo all the rights and benefits won by the workers through the union's
collective bargaining. They are in violation of labour law governing public
servants in Colombia, and of International Labour Organisation Conventions 98
and 87. A deadline of November 2008 has been set for the completion of the
'negotiation' process.
Proposals
put forward by the union SINTRAEMSIRVA which would keep the service in public
hands whilst improving efficiency and ensuring quality have been ignored. PSI
believes that the privatisation proposal will complete a plan to dissolve
SINTRAEMSIRVA; a sign of the anti-union policies prevailing in Colombia.
The official receiver, a
Mr Rodríguez, is proposing to make 230 union members redundant in order to
continue handing over the service to private companies. Workers who are fired
have been offered a redundancy payment, but this is no compensation for the hard
work carried out by each of the workers over the years under the municipal
corporation EMSIRVA E.S.P.
We appeal to all unions affiliated to PSI to send letters of
protest, addressed to President ALVARO URIBE VELEZ and the Directorate of Public
Services, about this plan which affects over 469 workers and their families.
We have prepared a model letter (in Spanish) below. Your message can also be
sent via the
website or
www.world-psi.org/accionurgente.
Please send copies of your own letter to PSI at
rights@world-psi.org,
ispandina@etb.net.co;
sintraemsirva@email.com,
juankaortiz@gmail.com
and to the Colombian embassy in your country.
NB: Letters of solidarity
and support should be sent to the addresses indicated above, and letters of
protest to the addresses below.
You can send this online by filling in the boxes and clicking "submit" below.
_____________________________________________
Model Letter
Doctor
ALVARO
URIBE VELEZ
Presidente
de la
República
de Colombia
Carrera 8 No 7-27
Palacio de Nariño
Bogotá D.C.
Fax:
(57-1) 566-2071.
Email:
auribe@presidencia.gov.co
Respetado
Presidente
Uribe,
Nuestra organización
[Name of your organisation]
ha conocido, con suma
preocupación, de la situación que viven los trabajadores de
la Empresa de
Servicios Público de Aseo de Cali (EMSIRVA E.S.P.),
los cuales, a través del Sindicato SINTRAEMSIRVA, han denunciado el proceso de
privatización que viene realizando
la Superintendencia
de Servicios Públicos, en cabeza de su Agente
Interventor Ricardo Rodríguez Yee, desconociendo los derechos convencionales
pactados con el sindicato y los Convenios Internacionales de la OIT.
Después de entregar servicios prestados por la empresa pública al sector
privado, el señor Rodríguez ha presentado una serie de pretensiones para que los
trabajadores se vean obligados a renunciar a todos los derechos y beneficios
convencionales y a los derechos como
trabajadores oficiales, con régimen de orden legal
que rige en Colombia para el sector público.
Además, el Agente Rodríguez pretende
desvincular a más de 230 trabajadores
sindicalizados, para continuar con la
entrega a empresas privadas de
los servicios que EMSIRVA
presta a la ciudad de Cali.
Solicitamos su intervención inmediata para que los trabajadores de la
Empresa
de Servicio Público de Aseo de Cali - EMSIRVA E.S.P,
sean escuchados y que sus
derechos convencionales legales se respeten, acorde
a los Convenios de la
OIT No 87 y
98.
Nuestra
filosofía es la defensa de las empresas
públicas en
manos
públicas,
con niveles de eficiencia y aporte social que a su vez fortalezcan al
Estado. Por lo anterior, solicitamos que sean escuchadas y tenidas en cuenta las
propuestas del Sindicato SINTRAEMSIRVA y que se garantice la estabilidad laboral
de los trabajadores de la empresa EMSIRVA E.S.P. bajo el marco de las garantías
sindicales, derecho fundamental de todos los trabajadores del Mundo.
Atentamente,
[Name]
[Name of your organisation]
Fill in the boxes below to send this letter of protest
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