Press Release – Unite Union Unite Union and Global Peace and Justice Aotearoa are calling on Aucklanders to join people from Colombia this Sunday At 3.30pm in Aotea Square, to strongly condemn the brutal repression of the Colombian people exercising their right to freedom of …
Unite Union and Global Peace and Justice Aotearoa are calling on Aucklanders to join people from Colombia this Sunday At 3.30pm in Aotea Square, to strongly condemn the brutal repression of the Colombian people exercising their right to freedom of expression, demonstrating against the tax reform bill and other harmful policies of their government.
“We want to support the legitimate demands of the Colombian people, support the strike, the peaceful mobilizations in line with the decisions of the National Unemployment Committee and the many social organizations that support them,” says Mike Treen, Advocate for Unite Union and spokesperson for GPJA.
Colombia: Global education movement condemns abuses of basic human rights
Education International and its affiliates around the globe are deeply concerned about the brutal repression of protests in Colombia. The global trade union federation demands democratic governance of the country and urges public authorities to put a halt to human rights abuses.
Protests started in Colombia on 28 April, mainly in opposition to a now-shelved tax reform. The proposed reform would have lowered the threshold at which salaries are taxed, affecting anyone with a monthly income of 2.6m pesos ($684) or more. It would also have eliminated many of the current exemptions enjoyed by individuals, as well as increasing taxes imposed on businesses. The proposal caused outrage among Colombians already battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ongoing protests have been joined by many middle-class people who fear the changes could see them slip into poverty.
6 May, 2021The people of Colombia are victims of police repression for demonstrating in the streets. Together with global union federations, IndustriALL rejects the armed violence against the country’s citizens, which has led to disappearances, arrests, injuries and deaths.
On 28 April, a national strike rejecting a proposed tax reform with increased taxes on public services, started in Colombia. The country’s President Iván Duque responded to the massive and peaceful demonstrations with excessive police violence.
So far, 28 people have died, 234 have been injured, 726 have been arbitrarily detained and more than 100 people are missing.
On 4 May, global union federations sent a letter to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, asking them to urgently intervene in Colombia to stop the brutal police violence.