Urgent actions
English Translation of Colombian Flower Workers Letter
MR. DIEGO PALACIO BETANCOURT
MINISTER OF SOCIAL PROTECTION
Bogotá, Colombia
Dear Mr. Palacio: I am very concerned to learn that the Minister of Social Protection has revoked the legal recognition of the flower workers' union Sintrasplendor.
Splendor Flowers has been threatening to fire Sintrasplendor affiliates, and is pressuring workers to instead join a different union that they support and influence.
The reasons why the Job Inspector Jeannette Diaz Latorre denied the application to recognize the legal status of SINTRASPLENDOR through the resolution 00001869 last June 30th are clearly incoherent with international labour law. Firstly, the Inspector based the decision on the fact that the foundation document was not signed by the majority of the founders. This complaint does not take into account the whole document; it is a formality that is not contemplated by the law. Its aim is to raise objections to the right to organise, obstruct the defence of workers’ rights and the guarantee of freedom of association guaranteed in the Convention No. 87 of the International Labour Organization. The second argument given to refuse the claim relates to the quorum of the Extraordinary General Assembly which had gathered to respond to the objections of the Inspector regarding the Foundation Document and the workers’ statute. While the law requires 50% plus one of the members for its validation, and 23 out of 27 founders attended the assembly, plus 373 out of 565 members, the Inspector argued that it is required the presence of at least 25 founders in order to ratify “the consent of the members to associate” according to a legal disposition that is not quoted and that does not exist.
I urge the Coordinator for Work, Employment and Social Security to approve the legalization and registration of Sintrasplendor and to attend the guarantees that are established in the Conventions and Recommendations of the ILO, the Colombian Constitution and the domestic legislation about freedom of association and protection of the right to organise. Sincerely,
Name,
Date
MINISTER OF SOCIAL PROTECTION
Bogotá, Colombia
Dear Mr. Palacio: I am very concerned to learn that the Minister of Social Protection has revoked the legal recognition of the flower workers' union Sintrasplendor.
Splendor Flowers has been threatening to fire Sintrasplendor affiliates, and is pressuring workers to instead join a different union that they support and influence.
The reasons why the Job Inspector Jeannette Diaz Latorre denied the application to recognize the legal status of SINTRASPLENDOR through the resolution 00001869 last June 30th are clearly incoherent with international labour law. Firstly, the Inspector based the decision on the fact that the foundation document was not signed by the majority of the founders. This complaint does not take into account the whole document; it is a formality that is not contemplated by the law. Its aim is to raise objections to the right to organise, obstruct the defence of workers’ rights and the guarantee of freedom of association guaranteed in the Convention No. 87 of the International Labour Organization. The second argument given to refuse the claim relates to the quorum of the Extraordinary General Assembly which had gathered to respond to the objections of the Inspector regarding the Foundation Document and the workers’ statute. While the law requires 50% plus one of the members for its validation, and 23 out of 27 founders attended the assembly, plus 373 out of 565 members, the Inspector argued that it is required the presence of at least 25 founders in order to ratify “the consent of the members to associate” according to a legal disposition that is not quoted and that does not exist.
I urge the Coordinator for Work, Employment and Social Security to approve the legalization and registration of Sintrasplendor and to attend the guarantees that are established in the Conventions and Recommendations of the ILO, the Colombian Constitution and the domestic legislation about freedom of association and protection of the right to organise. Sincerely,
Name,
Date
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