In Colombia, just 100,000 workers out of 20 million have bargaining rights. 85% of working Colombians are misclassified as contractors and “cooperativos.” These millions of workers don’t have bargaining rights and also are denied health care benefits and retirement security because they don’t have “employee status.”
The proposed free trade agreement calls for both the United States and Colombia to adopt the five fundamental rights outlined by the International Labor Organization, which include the right to form and join a union and the right to collective bargaining. The U.S. Congress has not adopted these conventions and is unlikely to do so now. And even if the Colombian government approved these fundamental rights, the proposed agreement has no real enforcement provisions.
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