Coal mine strike would ‘damage entire world’: Santos
Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos on Friday assigned the Minister of Labor to form a commission in order to address a union strike at Colombia’s most productive mine.BACKGROUND: Colombia's most productive coal mine mired in labor dispute"I have asked the Minister of Labor to personally go to Cerrejon...and do everything possible so that this strike is not successful, that it does not continue, because the damage to the entire world would be very large," said Santos."No one wins, the country loses,” President Santos added. “You lose… because every day that passes [there are] forgone royalties and foregone incomes that for the most part go to social investment.”Workers from the Sintracarbon coal miners union promised companies that operate Colombia’s Cerrejon coal mine that they would go on strike next week if a compromise involving better pay, health and safety conditions were not met."Since November 29th, when we handed over a list of demands to the company, this union has sought that Cerrejon Coal, owned by multinational companies Glencore-Xstrata, Anglo American, and BHP Billiton, recognize justice, fairness, and the legitimacy of [workers'] requests for health and occupational hazard [coverage], dignity of its employees, equity with its contract workers, environmental protection of the Guajira [department], and respect to the communities of the region,"said union representatives of Sintracarbon.The Cerrejon mine is the most productive mine in Colombia, according to local media, and accounts for 59.7% of GDP in the northern Guajira department. Cerrejon Coal is responsible for some 5% of coal sales in the world and employs roughly 12,000 people.[ed notes:so much for Santos claim the strike would damage the''entire world''!they will send in (us funded)anti  riot police(aid thru national colombian police dept/plan integration) to club,possibly even kill  workers should strike take place,these happen almost every few months in Colombia Striking Afro-Colombian Port Workers Attacked by Anti-Riot Police ... Take Action! Striking Sugar Cane Workers in Colombia under Attack ...  Sugar Workers Strike for Basic Rights - Centre Tricontinental - CETRI ESMAD y contraguerrilla agreden a mineros de Suarez (Cauca) ESMAD has also been denounced here, here, here, here and here.)  ...the us govt fully knowledgable of this .still continues the us (repression)assistance...on another note, if the tactical police doesnt put down the strike(colombias workers are very courageous and will figth for their rights),then i assure you these multinational mining corporations will outsource job to paramilitary deathsquads,in wich case the union leaders will be targetted for threats then death ...