All Content: labor rights

In a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, 62 members of Congress call for U.S. policy to support peace with justice as the country continues negotiations to end its internal conflict.

The letter, co-sponsored by Reps. McGovern and Schakowsky, calls on the Department of State to support the Colombia peace process and calls for the implementation of aid and policies that promote a lasting peace.

WOLA is pleased to announce the publication of the new report, “Brazil’s Lessons in Rural Development: Family Agriculture, Access to Water, and Civic Engagement,” which highlights two Brazilian policies that support small farmers.

On February 12, WOLA hosted Colombian Senator Alexander López Maya and a panel of union leaders as they explored continued obstacles facing Colombia's workers and recommendations for progress. This event was in Spanish.

Labor and human rights violations continue to be widespread in Colombia. President Obama can improve the situation--but only if he acts now.

As the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) embark on historic peace talks in Havana, Cuba, an end to hostilities is not the only desirable outcome. The negotiations offer an opportunity to address Colombia's legacy of exclusion of women--especially Afro-Colombian women--from politics and society.

A recent attack on striking workers in Buenaventura, one of Colombia's largest ports, exemplifies how Colombian authorities have failed to live up to the labor protections outlined in the US-Colombia Labor Action Plan.

Washington, D.C.—The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and Witness for Peace welcome the beginning of negotiations toward a solution in the case of illegally fired GM workers in Colombia, but reiterate the urgent need for a solution agreed upon by both GM and the striking workers.

On August 1st, 2012, four members of the Association of Injured Workers and Ex-Workers of General Motors Colmotores (ASOTRECOL) began a hunger strike by sewing their lips shut. To date, there are seven fired workers who have sewn their lips closed, with more joining the ranks every week GM Colmotores ignores their requests to ...