Labor Dept Announces $2M ILO Grant for Colombia Labor Plan, Improvements Needed for FTA
On February 1, 2012, Secretary of Labor Solis announced the award of a $2 million grant to the International Labor Organization to develop a robust presence in Colombia. The ILO presence will support the implementation of the Colombia Action Plan Related to Labor Rights, as much work remains to achieve the full potential of the plan for Colombia's workers. The Administration has also stated that it will ensure that Colombia has successfully implemented key elements of the Labor Action Plan before bringing the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement into force.
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(The U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) had previously been stalled due to concerns about Colombia’s enforcement of internationally recognized labor rights, prevention of violence against labor leaders, and prosecution of the perpetrators of such violence. In April 2011, the U.S. and Colombia agreed to a Labor Action Plan, which laid the groundwork for significant labor rights improvements in Colombia and cleared the way for the Administration to move forward on the Agreement. The Colombia TPA implementing bill was signed on October 21, 2011, but the Colombia TPA has not yet been implemented. See ITT's Online Archives 11040737 for summary of the Action Plan. See ITT’s Online Archives 11102103, 11112862, 11120624, 11122116, 11122219 and 12012714 for summaries of the President’s signature and USTR updates on the Colombia TPA implementation progress.)
(See ITT's Online Archives 12012714 for the latest update on the implementation of the U.S.-Colombia TPA, as well as the U.S. free trade agreements with South Korea and Panama.
See ITT's Online Archives 11121220 for summary of a letter 20 Senators sent to Secretary Solis asking that the Administration ensure that Colombia makes meaningful progress on labor rights.)