The general secretary of a Colombian transport workers union was murdered in Cali, the country’s third-largest city, on 5 November. William Molina was shot dead in the San Nicolás neighbourhood, close to the city centre.
52-year-old William was general secretary of the National Trade Union for Alternative Transport Workers (Sindicato Nacional de Transportadores Alternativos, SINTRAL), which represents those employed informally on buses and other forms of transport. The union uses the term ‘alternative’ in referring to non-contracted workers whose livelihoods depend on the transport system.
According to the CUT trade union federation, to which SINTRAL is affiliated, William had ‘‘carried out a valiant fight for transport workers … in favour of the right to work and in defence of the family life of thousands of Colombians ruined by the establishment of mass transportation systems that monopolise an essential public service.’
At the time of his killing, William was campaigning for municipal authorities to formalise the status of workers at transport company Asopotrans, which he had co-founded. He was also leading claims by informal workers for compensation against the state over unpaid wages going back 15 years.
Congress member Duvalier Sánchez, a friend of William, said that he had taken part in a human rights commission in Cali on 29 August in which the trade unionist had reported threats connected to his campaigning. ‘The authorities and the town hall did nothing and now we mourn his death,’ said Sánchez.
‘This cowardly crime against our colleague’s life represents a new blow against the trade union movement and demonstrates the systematic violence facing those who defend the rights of transport workers,’ said the CUT.
William was a supporter of the progressive government and had posted a picture on social media of himself alongside President Gustavo Petro and former congress member Alexander López, currently Director of the government’s National Planning Department and, like William, a resident of Cali.
Despite the government’s strong relationship with trade unions, with the CUT and other major organisations such as the FECODE teacher federation supporting its policies, Colombia continues to see high levels of aggression towards organised labour. In its annual Global Rights Index, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) found that 11 trade unionists were murdered in Colombia in the twelve months preceding June 2024.
The government has promoted better conditions for Colombia workers via its labour reform bill. However, under pressure from the opposition in congress, a series of articles guaranteeing fundamental trade union rights on collective negotiation and the right to strike were removed from the bill. In response, the CUT strongly criticised the opposition, while the government hopes to reinstate the articles at a later date.
Improving labour rights and advancing the peacebuilding agenda are seen by unions and government supporters as important measures in tackling anti-union violence and broader human rights abuses in Colombia.