The GMB union has contacted the British government over the recent murder of Colombian trade unionist Walberto Quintero Medina of the SINALTRAINAL food workers union. Walberto was attacked on 28 April in the city of Valledupar, northern Colombia, just five days after attending a SINALTRAINAL national assembly in which Justice for Colombia participatd virtually as an invited speaker.
Since 2018, GMB has officially supported SINALTRAINAL after that year’s conference motion condemned the previous month’s murder of three unionised members of the union who were employed at Nestlé. The union is currently running a campaign to pressure Nestlé over poor labour conditions, workplace abuses and unfair dismissals. Walberto worked at the company’s Valledupar plant. In March, GMB and Unite reps at Nestlé UK contacted their employer over SINALTRAINAL’s demands.
In the letter addressed to UK Latin America Minister Baroness Jenny Chapman, the GMB urged the government to support Colombian authorities in guaranteeing trade union security and to maintain support for peacebuilding initiatives in Colombia, whether implementation of the 2016 agreement or current peace talks that aim to end conflict through dialogue.
The letter also expressed concern over threats last month against executive committee members at the CUT trade union federation and the FECODE teacher federation. Among those targeted was the CUT’s director of young workers, Lina Montilla Díaz, who was an official guest at GMB conference last year. With the threats linked to trade union support for the progressive government of President Gustavo Petro, the GMB said ‘[g]iven the GMB’s affiliation to the Labour Party … it is unacceptable to us that trade union support for political movements should encounter threats of harm or intimidation.’
Read or download the GMB letter below.