Colombia most dangerous nation for union members

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Colombia was the most dangerous nation for union members again last year, with 201 killings or disappearances reported, or 90 percent of the worldwide total, according to an annual survey released Tuesday.\nThe total in Colombia, plagued by drug traffickers and a decades-old guerrilla war, was more than 30 percent higher than the 153 reported in 2000, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions said. That pushed the global figure up to 223, 14 more than in 2000.\nPublic sector union members in Colombia were targeted the most, accounting for about 65 percent of those killed or missing. The ICFTU attributed that to their opposition to privatization of state-owned industries.\nWhile the Colombian government denies responsibility, the report charged most of the killings were "carried out by paramilitary groups which enjoy the tacit complicity of the security forces."\nThe survey also found more than 4,000 trade unionists were arrested worldwide, 1,000 injured and 10,000 fired.\nIt said "anti-union repression" was especially bad in the developing world, citing such countries as China, Indonesia, South Korea and Myanmar among Asian nations and Zimbabwe and Swaziland in Africa.\nIn Central America, it cited firings and harassment of unionized workers at banana plantations in Costa Rica and Guatemala. Strikes and demonstrations multiplied in Argentina because of the economic collapse, it said, resulting in numerous clashes with police.\n"The United States and Canada are not above reproach when it comes to the respect of trade union rights," the report added.\nPresident Bush was criticized for rescinding a Clinton administration executive order protecting the rights of contract workers on construction projects.\nThe report also criticized new legislation in the Canadian province of British Columbia that make it "virtually impossible for nurses and education workers to strike legally.\nCivil servants in western Europe also face restrictions on their collective bargaining rights, the report said.\nSome legislative improvements have been seen in central and eastern Europe, it said, but anti-union activities persist in\ncountries ranging from Czech Republic to Belarus, it said.\nThe ICFTU has affiliates in 148 countries and territories, which represent 157 million workers.