The labor movement in Colombia had its precedent in the mid-nineteenth century, with the organizations of artisans. However, unlike what happened in the rest of the world, it did not begin its true journey until well into the 20th century..
The reason for this delay was the lack of industrialization of the country, just the event that had motivated the organization of workers' movements in other parts of the planet. In Colombia it was more common for peasants to organize.
This changed when workers began to protest against foreign multinationals operating in Colombian territory. One of the events that prompted the workers' struggle was the massacre of the banana plantations. As elsewhere, the main reason workers organized was the lack of labor rights.
The unions, the main model of labor organization, developed their protests through strikes and mobilizations. Liberal governments were the first to begin to legislate in their favor, although in recent years the imposed neoliberal system has led, according to experts, to a decline in these rights..
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The antecedent of the labor movements in Colombia were the mutualist organizations that appeared in the mid-nineteenth century. In reality, they were groups of artisans. However, the government even outlawed one of them in 1890, considering that it was carrying out political activities..
The first trade union organization that managed to have legal personality was the Sindicato de Typographers of Bogotá, in 1906, opening the way for the State to admit mass organizations.
From that date until 1930, the number of unions was expanded to 99, although it would not be until the following year when Congress recognized the right to exercise their activity. The Confederation of Colombian Workers (CTC) was founded at that time. Earlier, in 1920, the unions had managed to get the right to strike recognized.
Given the scarce industrial fabric of the country, it was other sectors that began to organize the workers' struggle. Among these, transportation stood out. On November 2, 1878, the Pacific railroad workers began the first strike in Colombia.
Another important sector was that of dock workers. In the Atlantic area, in 1910, they were the protagonists of one of the most important strikes of the time.
During those first mobilizations, workers had to organize autonomously, since there were no unions to guide them..
The time in the history of Colombia called the Conservative Republic was quite repressive towards the entire liberal and progressive movement. This was one of the reasons why the celebration of May Day, Workers' Day, arrived in the country almost a quarter of a century later than the rest of the world..
The first celebration of this day was in 1914, at the initiative of the Unión Obrera Colombiana, an artisan organization in Bogotá. In order to celebrate it, they had to request permission from the factory owners so that they would allow the workers to march through the streets of the capital..
The Municipal Council decided to support the celebration and granted vacations to its workers, also inviting those from the rest of the cities and towns of Colombia.
Colombia, at the end of the First World War, was an eminently agricultural country, with a landowning oligarchy that controlled the economy and a good part of the sources of power. Along with them, there was a powerful Catholic hierarchy and an army closely linked to the Conservative Party..
This situation was not very favorable to the appearance of the labor movement, although in 1924 the First Workers' Congress was held. The following year, the Colombian Trade Union Union appeared and, in 1926, the Revolutionary Socialist Party..
The event that prompted the creation of a strong labor movement was the massacre of the banana plantations. This was preceded by a hurricane that, in 1927, devastated part of the plantations, leaving many employees unemployed.
The workers received no help, so they began to organize and their representatives presented a series of petitions to you in October 1928. However, their attempt at negotiation was flatly rejected. Given this, the workers called a strike on November 12.
The banana strike was followed by between 16,000 and 32,000 people. Their main objective was to achieve civil and social rights, something that they lacked. The government's response was to declare them subversive. The repression, unleashed on December 5, ended in a massacre of workers.
Years later, in 1948, Jorge Eliecer Gaitán affirmed that this massacre meant the birth of the Colombian working class.
Many authors have pointed out that the labor movement in Colombia is related to the type of social development that has occurred and that they have called modernism without modernity..
One of the historical causes of the peculiarities of the Colombian labor movement was the continuous confrontation between the liberals and the conservatives. The latter, supported by oligarchs and the Church, were in favor of maintaining semi-feudal structures. The former, on the other hand, supported more egalitarian reforms.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 had been one of the most powerful influences in the consolidation of the European labor movement. Without a doubt, it was also a very important event in Latin America, including Colombia.
However, Colombian workers' organizations received a much closer influence: the Mexican Revolution that began in 1910..
Although much later and deficient than in Europe, industrialization was the breeding ground for the emergence of the modern labor movement in Colombia. This caused the appearance of new social classes and changed the economic system.
The introduction of the industry did not lead to an improvement in the living conditions of the workers. Wages were very low and labor rights almost non-existent. Given this, groups and movements appeared that fought for social justice and workers' rights..
Before the labor movement became stronger, in Colombia there was already a tradition of fighting for workers' labor rights. This had occurred in the countryside, since the country's economy was deeply agrarian.
The peasants had always suffered from a great lack of rights, beginning with access to land ownership. Large landowners were the norm and had a great influence on national politics.
The first peasant organizations appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. Later, during the second decade of that century, they began to organize important mobilizations to fight for better wages and decent working and living conditions..
Among the most important formations were the Peasant Leagues, the Rural Workers' Unions and the Rural Action Units.
One of the main characteristics of the labor movement in Colombia is the delay in its appearance compared to the rest of the world. This was due not only to the lack of democratic and economic transformations, but also to the numerous civil wars that faced conservatives and liberals..
One historian points out that the 19th century “was a century of civil wars between radical liberals and conservatives that stalled the arrival of industry in our country. And this is why we went through the nineteenth century without a single industrial worker ".
Colombian labor organizations have used the strike as one of their most powerful weapons to try to improve their situation.
In the first years of this movement, some stood out such as the one in 1924, called by the workers of the Tropical Oil Company - Troco or, that same year, the one declared in Barrancabermeja by the employees of the oil area, the merchants and the inhabitants.
According to the country's own unions, one of the most common actions that power has taken to confront the labor movement has been the “divide and conquer” tactic..
In this way, the Church, for example, created the UTC to weaken the CTC. At the same time, the government succeeded in dividing the latter union by recruiting some of its members.
The Colombian labor movement suffered violent repression from the very beginning. At present, statistics show that the situation is still dangerous for members of these organizations.
Thus, according to the national report on the economic, labor and trade union situation, prepared by the National Trade Union School, during 2009 there were 27 murders, 18 attacks and 412 death threats against members of the labor organizations.
In addition, at least 236 organizations saw their legal union registration denied. The consequence is that, since 2002, the number of trade unionists has decreased by 53,000 people.
Colombian workers suffered from a series of structural problems that they tried to solve by organizing and creating unions. To begin with, the wages were very low, condemning the workers to a life almost of poverty..
On the other hand, child labor, even worse paid, was legal in the country. Women received, on average, half the salary of men. To this must be added the lack of labor rights, from vacations to sick leave.
Before the creation of the workers' organizations, the workers developed their struggle autonomously, which gave them less strength..
From the appearance of this movement, the workers began to use new methods of protest. From strikes in front of companies to demonstrations, workers used all avenues to request job improvements.
The best organization of the protests was one of the circumstances by which the workers saw some of their requests recognized. The coming to power of liberal governments also benefited this group.
Thus, in 1944, the López Pumarejo government enacted a series of measures favorable to the workers and peasants. Among them, the remuneration of Sunday rest, the payment of compensation for accidents at work or illness and some benefits for farm workers.
One of the most important laws was that of the trade union jurisdiction. From that moment on, no union leader could be fired without the authorization of the Ministry of Labor. It was a measure to avoid labor retaliation for trade unionists.
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