A Colombian Sister's story: death threats and privatizations

BCGEU president Darryl Walker with Colombian unionist Maria Fernanda Bolaños, centre, and BCGEU VP Lorene Oikawa.

A young Colombian trade union leader whose life has been threatened by death squads shared her experiences firsthand with BCGEU president Darryl Walker and other union activists at an Aug. 6 meeting in Burnaby.

Maria Fernada Bolaños hails from Cali-Columbia's third-largest city-where she works for a publicly-owned utility called EMSIRVA. It operates municipal garbage collection and street cleaning. A 34-year-old single mother, Bolaños is also a leader in the worker's union SINTRAEMSIRVA, which represents 500 EMSIRVA workers.

It's a battle against the privatization of the public company Bolaños works for that's resulted in death threats against her and the murder of a fellow leader.

And the news, unfortunately, has been bleak for since she left Columbia for Canada in mid-July. Despite a long union campaign to protect jobs and services, Colombia's national government just recently announced that the most profitable parts of the garbage collection system would be given to three private companies.

In the context of the recently signed free trade agreement between Colombia and Canada, Bolaños shed light on economic and political conditions in her country. She says the aggressive pursuit of profits by multinational companies is the backdrop for disappearances, assassinations, and land clearances where people are forcibly removed from their rural homes and lands to ensure unimpeded access to valuable natural resources.

Despite the great challenges-and the grave threats- Bolaños is driven by the need to right injustices in Colombia. "I've seen children dying of hunger and pregnant women dying giving birth because there are no health services," she says.

She urged her colleagues in the Canadian labour movement to speak out against the free trade deal with Colombia and against multinational companies who will benefit from the deal and privatization.

Moved by Bolaños' presentation, union president Walker pledged BCGEU's continued support. "We would like to maintain a relationship with your union and the people of Colombia to try and make a better world for all of us," Walker says.

Bolaños has met with different groups across the country in a tour organized by the National Union of Public and General Employees and three other national unions.