ATIK | Confederation of Workers from Turkey in Europe | AHM-ATIK News Center
COLOMBIA | 13-11-2013 | Trade union member Oscar López Triviño was killed on 9 November in Bugalagrande, south-western Colombia. A day earlier, paramilitaries sent a death threat to members of the union to which he belongs. Other members of the union are at risk.
On 9 November a man shot and killed Oscar López Triviño in a billiard hall in Bugalagrande, Valle del Cauca Department. Oscar Lopez Trivino worked for Nestle and was a member of the Bugalagrande branch of the National Union of Food Industry Workers (Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Industria de Alimentos, SINALTRAINAL). On 8 November, the paramilitary group Los Urabenos sent a death threat by SMS to the phones of José Onofre Esquivel Luna and Álvaro Varela Pérez, who are both leaders of the Bugalagrande branch of
SINALTRAINAL and work for Nestle. The death threat read: “Guerrilla fighters son-of-a-bitch you continue to mess with Nestle [,] no more forgiveness [,] we will cut you up [,] death to all communists of SINALTRAINAL Urabenos” (guerrilleros hp siguen jodiendo a Nestlé no mas perdón los picaremos muerte a todos los comunistas de Sinaltrainal Urabeños).
Members of SINALTRAINAL have been on hunger strike since 5 November in front of the Nestle factory in Bugalagrande. They have been demanding that various agreements made with the company are respected. Initially the hunger strike was to start on 10 October but had to be stopped after a few hours due to threats.
Since its creation in 1982, members of SINALTRAINAL have received repeated death threats from paramilitaries and more than 20 members of SINALTRAINAL have been killed. According to the trade union 13 of those killed had worked for Nestle. Nestle has previously denied any link to paramilitary violence; however, Nestle does have a duty to assist the authorities in undertaking full and impartial investigations into the latest killing and threats and to call on the authorities to undertake such action, as a means to guarantee the safety of the trade union members and ensure that the company does not benefit from paramilitary acts. (Amnesty International)
