The main business associations of the country warn that the unemployment has had a devastating impact on the process of economic reactivation, on job creation and on the sustainability of companies.
The Trade Union Council, which groups together the 29 most important unions in the business sector, sent a letter to different international organizations in which they present their position on unemployment and warn of the consequences on the Colombian economy.
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The document was addressed to: António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations (UN); Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS); and María Claudia Pulido, Executive Secretary (E) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
The union council criticized that even though the government withdrew the tax reform, the trigger for the national strike, the protests continue.
“The demonstrations have continued, and acts of vandalism and insecurity have increased, generating a devastating impact on the economic reactivation process, job creation, business sustainability and free access to health services, food security, home public services, free movement and exercise of the right to work. In turn, the agglomerations have generated that the levels of contagion of COVID-19 are reaching their highest point, deepening the hospital crisis. There are regions of Colombia that present shortages of food, fuel, medicines and medical supplies; which has affected the well-being of the communities due to the lack and over-cost of food and the fact that people cannot access their medical treatments ”, indicates the Trade Union Council.
However, one of the consensus that has emerged among academics is that the unemployment is not only due to the tax reform, but is the consequence of the harsh social situation in the country. For example, monetary poverty went from 35.7% (what was registered in 2019) to 42.5% in 2020, implying that 3.6 million entered this condition.
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In addition, according to Dane, the middle class was reduced by 2.17 million people: falling from 14.7 million in 2019 to 12.5 million in 2020. And Cali, one of the epicenters of the protests, was one of the cities most affected: 256,000 people left the middle class.
Follow the news of El Espectador on Google NewsIn the letter, the union council indicates in several points its support for the National Government, and about its handling of the strike.
“The Colombian Government is the guarantor of the right to social protest, it has respected and accompanied the protesters in the free and peaceful exercise of their fundamental right. However, the development of several of the demonstrations has been framed in contexts of violence, damage to public property and blockades of national roads, restricting the free movement of citizens ”, points out the Trade Union Council.
However, international organizations have already criticized the government for handling the demonstrations. For example, in early May the UN and the European Union condemned excess force against protesters in Colombia.
“The EU condemns acts of violence, which target legitimate rights to demonstrate, freedom of assembly and expression. It is very important that these rights are respected, ”said European External Action Service spokesman Peter Stano.
“We are deeply alarmed by the events that occurred in the city of Cali in Colombia last night, when the police opened fire on protesters protesting against the tax reform, killing and wounding several people, according to the information received,” he declared in Geneva. Marta Hurtado, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The union council ends the letter by calling for international organizations to be vigilant of “what is happening in our country and we can build synergies that allow us to overcome the situation and guarantee the effective protection of the rights of all Colombians.”
