Last Wednesday Jan. 13, an armed group opened fire on 185 workers who had just been laid off by Inversiones Palo Alto Gnecco Espinosa, a company that operates the Palo Alto palm oil plantation, in Colombia's Ciénaga region, seriously wounding one worker. Hernán Correa, President of the National Union of Agroindustry Workers (SINTRAINAGRO) spoke with SIREL about the situation at Palo Alto.

-What happened at the Palo Alto establishment?

-Last Dec. 23, the workers formed a union, joined SINTRAINAGRO, and presented a List of Demands. As soon as the news reached management, they fired 185 workers who were owed a month's salary along with health insurance, family subsidy and funeral insurance. For the past seven years the workers' contributions for all these  benefits were retained from their pay but were not channeled to the respective service providers.

-There had never been a union in this establishment?

-They hadn't joined SINTRAINAGRO until now, although several times in the past they had had to stage strikes and work stoppages to demand payment of unpaid wages, and that's what they were doing now. But then this armed group stormed the site, under the command by Alexander Ramírez, and went after the members of the Bargaining Committee, yelling for them to come out or they would kill them.

When they couldn't find them they began shooting wildly, wounding one of the workers in the face. Around here it's pretty common for management to hire thugs and gunmen to intimate any workers who stand up for their rights.

-How many workers does the company employ?

-Some 200 workers, and 185 of them had joined the union, which is why they were laid off. After the shooting, the company requested police custody at the site and put all the workers in one of those associated work cooperatives, which everyone knows are just a mechanism for extreme exploitation, promoted by the government of Colombia.

-Were there any contacts with management after the incident?

-There was a meeting with the manager, Ramón Tovar, who said he was not willing to acknowledge the union or reinstate the laid-off workers, in clear violation of the international conventions signed by Colombia with the ILO, as well as national labor laws.

-What actions are being taken?

-Together with the United Workers’ Federation (CUT), we are requesting a meeting with the Vice President of the Republic, Francisco Santos Calderón, to demand guarantees for the safety of these workers; and we're also requesting that the Ministry of Labor summon the company to a meeting in Bogotá with the purpose of acknowledging the union and launching negotiations of the List of Demands presented by the workers.

In addition, we are alerting the rest of the labor movement of these extremely violent antiunion acts, and we are considering filing criminal charges, because a serious crime was committed here, and the perpetrators need to be identified.

-How is the injured worker?

-He's hospitalized and being treated for his wound.