

Currently released so far... 5746 / 251,287
Articles
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
2011/02/15
2011/02/16
2011/02/17
2011/02/18
2011/02/19
2011/02/20
2011/02/21
2011/02/22
2011/02/23
2011/02/24
2011/02/25
2011/02/26
2011/02/27
2011/02/28
2011/03/01
2011/03/02
2011/03/03
2011/03/04
2011/03/05
2011/03/06
2011/03/07
2011/03/08
2011/03/09
2011/03/10
2011/03/11
2011/03/13
2011/03/14
2011/03/15
2011/03/16
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Amsterdam
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Ciudad Juarez
Consulate Chennai
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kathmandu
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Ljubljana
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lagos
Mission USNATO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Mbabane
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Consulate Milan
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Browse by tag
AF
AJ
AU
AG
AE
ASEC
AS
AM
AR
AMGT
AORC
AFIN
APER
ABUD
ATRN
AL
AEMR
ACOA
AO
AX
AMED
ADCO
AODE
AFFAIRS
AC
ASIG
ABLD
AA
AFU
ASUP
AROC
ATFN
AVERY
APCS
AER
ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG
AEC
APECO
ASEAN
AID
AGMT
CH
CA
CD
CV
CVIS
CMGT
CO
CI
CU
CASC
CBW
CLINTON
CE
CS
CJAN
CIA
CG
CF
CN
CAN
COUNTER
CDG
CIS
CM
CONDOLEEZZA
COE
CR
CY
CTM
COUNTRY
CLEARANCE
CPAS
CWC
CT
CKGR
CB
CACS
COM
CJUS
CARSON
CL
CODEL
COUNTERTERRORISM
CACM
CDB
EAGR
ETRD
ECON
EFIN
ELAB
EU
ENRG
EPET
EG
EAID
ETTC
EINV
EIND
EUN
EAIR
ER
ECIN
ECPS
EFIS
EI
EINT
EZ
EMIN
ET
EC
ETC
ECONEFIN
ENVR
ES
ECA
ELN
EN
EFTA
EWWT
ENIV
ELTN
EXTERNAL
EINVETC
EINN
ENGR
EUR
ESA
ENERG
EK
ENGY
ETRO
ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS
ETRDEINVTINTCS
ESENV
ENVI
ECONCS
ETRDECONWTOCS
ENNP
ELECTIONS
ECUN
EINVEFIN
ECIP
EINDETRD
EUC
EREL
IR
IS
IZ
INTERPOL
IPR
IN
IT
INRB
IAEA
IRAJ
INRA
INRO
IO
IC
ID
IIP
ILC
ITPHUM
IV
IWC
IQ
ICTY
ISRAELI
IRAQI
ICRC
ICAO
IMO
IF
IEFIN
INTELSAT
IL
IA
IBRD
IMF
INR
IRC
ITRA
ITALY
ITALIAN
KCOR
KN
KS
KDEM
KNNP
KSPR
KPAL
KJUS
KFRD
KCRM
KTIP
KZ
KPAO
KTFN
KIPR
KPKO
KSCA
KISL
KNUC
KMDR
KGHG
KPLS
KE
KOLY
KWBG
KUNR
KDRG
KAWK
KIRF
KIRC
KU
KBIO
KHLS
KG
KACT
KGIC
KRAD
KCOM
KMCA
KV
KHDP
KSUM
KVPR
KDEV
KWMN
KMPI
KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KOMC
KTLA
KCFC
KTIA
KHIV
KPRP
KAWC
KCIP
KCFE
KOCI
KTDB
KMRS
KLIG
KBCT
KICC
KGIT
KSTC
KPAK
KNEI
KSEP
KPOA
KFLU
KNUP
KNNPMNUC
KO
KTER
KHUM
KRFD
KBTR
KDDG
KWWMN
KFLO
KSAF
KBTS
KPRV
KNPP
KNAR
KWMM
KERG
KFIN
KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KTBT
KCRS
KRVC
KSTH
KREL
KNSD
KTEX
KPAI
KHSA
KOMS
KWAC
KR
KPWR
KMIG
KSEC
KIFR
KDEMAF
KGCC
KPIN
MARR
MO
MOPS
MASS
MNUC
ML
MR
MZ
MCAP
MPOS
MOPPS
MTCRE
MX
MTCR
MAPP
MU
MY
MA
MG
MASC
MCC
MEPP
MK
MTRE
MP
MIL
MDC
MAR
MEPI
MRCRE
MI
MT
MQADHAFI
MD
MAPS
MUCN
MASSMNUC
MERCOSUR
MC
MV
ODIP
OIIP
OREP
OVIP
OEXC
OPRC
OFDP
OPDC
OECD
OTRA
OSCE
OAS
OPIC
OPCW
OSCI
OIE
OIC
OTR
OVP
OFFICIALS
OSAC
PREL
PGOV
PTER
PINR
PSOE
PHUM
PBTS
PARM
PK
PREF
PINS
PL
PHSA
PE
PKFK
PO
PGOF
PROP
PA
PARMS
PUNE
PORG
PM
PMIL
PTERE
POL
PF
PALESTINIAN
PY
PGGV
PNR
POV
PAK
PAO
PFOR
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PRGOV
PNAT
PROV
PEL
PINF
PGOVE
POLINT
PRL
PRAM
PMAR
PGOVLO
PHUMBA
PHUS
PHUMPREL
PG
PGOC
POLITICS
PEPR
PSI
PINT
PU
POLITICAL
PARTIES
PBIO
PECON
POGOV
PINL
SP
SOCI
SENV
SNAR
SL
SW
SY
SG
SU
SA
SMIG
SCUL
SO
SF
SR
SZ
SN
SHUM
SYR
ST
SANC
SC
SAN
SIPRS
SK
SH
SI
SNARCS
STEINBERG
TU
TS
TBIO
TH
TX
TRGY
TSPA
TC
TI
TIP
TR
TT
TW
TERRORISM
TO
TFIN
TD
TSPL
TZ
TPHY
TK
TNGD
TINT
TRSY
TP
UV
US
UK
UP
UN
UNSC
UNGA
USEU
UG
USUN
UY
UZ
UNO
UNMIK
UNESCO
UNHRC
UE
UAE
UNEP
USTR
UNHCR
UNDP
USAID
UNCHS
UNAUS
UNCHC
UNDC
UNDESCO
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 10BOGOTA115, DRUMMOND FIRES WORKERS FOR ILLEGAL STRIKE
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #10BOGOTA115.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
10BOGOTA115 | 2010-02-01 14:02 | 2011-03-16 12:12 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Bogota |
Appears in these articles: http://www.elespectador.com/wikileaks |
VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHBO #0115/01 0321441
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 011441Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2419
INFO RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUCNFB/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 000115
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
USTR FOR EISSENSTAT AND HARMAN
DOL FOR ZOLLNER AND QUINTANA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/01
TAGS: ELAB EAID ETRD PGOV PHUM PREL USTR LAB CO
SUBJECT: DRUMMOND FIRES WORKERS FOR ILLEGAL STRIKE
REF: 09 BOGOTA 3127; 09 BOGOTA 3302
CLASSIFIED BY: Mark A. Wells, Political Counselor;
REASON: 1.4(B),(D)
SUMMARY
-------
¶1. (SBU) U.S. mining company Drummond has begun the process of
firing the majority of the National Mining and Energy Industry
Workers' Union's (SINTRAMIENERGETICA) 35-member board of directors
due to the union's illegal strike in March 2009.
SINTRAMIENERGETICA leaders have urged a negotiated solution
mediated by the Ministry of Social Protection (MPS) and the
International Labor Organization (ILO) as an alternative to
dismissals, while criticizing Drummond's occupational safety record
and practices. Drummond executives defended the company's safety
record, and refused to entertain further negotiations with the
union's current leadership, citing its role in organizing the
illegal strike, and its efforts to hijack the company's Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) program for political ends. End
Summary.
DRUMMOND EXPECTS TO ONLY FIRE 35
--------------------------------
¶2. (SBU) Colombia's Supreme Court upheld on September 29 a lower
court ruling (not published until December 16) that declared
illegal a strike organized by SINTRAMIENERGETICA at Drummond's La
Loma mine and Santa Marta port operations in March 2009 (reftel a).
Colombian labor law (Labor Code Article 450) allows companies to
dismiss workers who have actively promoted and participated in an
illegal strike. Accordingly, Drummond has commenced internal
disciplinary proceedings to fire the most active organizers,
including most of the 35-member union board and several rank and
file union members.
¶3. (SBU) Colombia Drummond President Augusto Jimenez told us that
the company had already dismissed 14 union leaders and suspended
one in relation to the court verdict; 20 proceedings were ongoing.
Drummond also issued a statement to 2,200 SINTRAMIENERGETICA
members on December 21 advising them of the disciplinary
proceedings against the union's leaders; ensuring them that the
union itself and its collective bargaining agreement would remain
viable; and urging them to reorganize and elect a new board of
directors. While Drummond has ceased talks with SINTRAMIENERGETICA
leaders, Jimenez reported that he was in a dialogue with Unified
Workers Central (CUT) President Tarsicio Mora Godoy and President
Uribe to work out a solution to the company's labor relations
problems.
UNION LEADERS WANT A NEGOTIATED SOLUTION
----------------------------------------
¶4. (SBU) SINTRAMIENERGETICA leaders criticized the Supreme Court's
decision, but acknowledged its final authority on the matter and
the culmination of the legal process. Sectional (El Paso)
XXXXXXXXXXXX said that the dismissals were
forgone conclusions, evidenced by Drummond's statement advising
workers to elect a new union board before most of the disciplinary
proceedings had even begun. Moreover, Avila warned that the
dismissals would hurt the industry by signaling that mining
companies could flaunt safety laws with impunity. (Note: the March
2009 strike was precipitated by a fatal driving accident in
Drummond's La Loma mine on March 22.End Note.) As an
alternative, union leaders urged a negotiated solution between the
company and the union mediated by the MPS and an ILO
representative. They said that Vice Minister of Labor Ricardo
Andres Echeverri had agreed to participate, and asked us to
pressure Drummond into accepting mediation.
¶5. (SBU) SINTAMIENERGETICA leaders said their primary concern
remained the safety of Drummond mine and port workers. They told
us that Drummond ignored its occupational safety obligations as a
cost-saving measure. Consequently, 16 Drummond workers had been
killed and 275 injured in industrial accidents since 1996. Avila
claimed that Drummond regularly fired sick and injured workers, or
placed them in a "transitional employment" program (instead of
classifying them as "sick" or "injured") to massage its safety
record. Avila said Drummond management had also repeatedly refused
the union's requests for a dialogue on occupational safety issues,
and noted that two recent safety-related sanctions levied on the
company by the MPS, totaling about USD $10,000, would do little to
enforce compliance.
DRUMMOND DEFENDS ITS SAFETY RECORD
----------------------------------
¶6. (C) Jimenez said that the company's safety incidence rate, an
index measuring time lost due to safety incidents per 100 employees
per year, had been consistently lower than the U.S. average for
surface mining activity (.35 compared to 1.49 in the United
States). He provided company documentation of 13 work-related
deaths, including ten in its mines and three in its port
facilities. (Note: SINTRAMIENERGETICA's higher count of 16 deaths
includes two union leaders assassinated in 2001 (reftel b) and a
port worker who died at a private medical facility of other health
complications, which by company criteria were not work-related
fatalities. End Note.) According to Jimenez, Drummond was found
partially negligent and sanctioned in relation to only three of the
13 fatal accidents.
¶7. (C) Jimenez said Drummond did not fire workers due to
job-related injuries and illnesses, nor did it classify them as
transitionally employed to massage safety statistics. Jimenez
noted, however, that workers frequently tried to pass off common
illnesses as work-related and regularly bribed health and insurance
authorities to improve benefits levels. As such, Drummond
meticulously documented and investigated each work-related accident
or illness.
¶8. (C) The transitional employment program provides incapacitated
workers with regular medical examinations, rehabilitation, and
medically-approved tasks and work schedules. Out of approximately
4,500 direct-hire employees (there are 18 thousand total including
indirect-hires), Jimenez said 239 workers are currently classified
as injured: 44 due to work accidents; 55 from work-related
illnesses; 47 due to common illnesses unrelated to work; and 93 are
still under evaluation. Additionally, 23 are completely
incapacitated and 216 are working in the transitional employment
program.
DRUMMOND SAYS UNION "PLAYING POLITICS"
---------------------------------------
¶9. (C) Jimenez told us that politics, not safety, was the union
leadership's primary concern, and the root of Drummond's problems
with SINTRAMIENERGETICA. Avila and others who were running for
local public office had aligned themselves with the governor of
Cesar Department in an attempt to gain control of Drummond's
substantial Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program and
associated budget and use it to curry votes among the population.
Drummond's refusal to relinquish control of its CSR program to the
union was a source of tension between the company, the union, and
the governor. Jimenez asserted that Avila and other union leaders
had rallied workers around occupational safety issues as a
smokescreen for their own political ambitions.
BROWNFIELD
=======================CABLE ENDS============================