Front lines delegation with nomadesc
CoDevelopment Canada and other groups, it is able to continue sup porting workers in the ‘maquilas’, or free trade manufacturing zones, in Nicaragua. MEC’s Workers Mobile Law Firm last year assisted over 2,000 indi viduals struggling with labour issues, family violence and child care support. These mobile legal clinics provide women working in maquila factories access to legal advice that would otherwise not be within their financial means. In addition, the lawyers accompany women to file complaints when needed, empowering them to defend their own rights against exploitation by employers, owners and the government. Many of the cases they took on were collective cases
of companies violating the rights of a whole group of workers. MEC plans to continue the work of their Mediation Centre, a centre that specializes in mediation, negotiation and alternative conflict resolution. The Centre is run by and for maquila workers, and is a continuation and expansion of the services offered by the Workers Mobile Law Firm. Its mediation and arbitration services, available since April 2006, were certified by the Nicaraguan Supreme Court. MEC’s Sixteenth National Forum for Maquila Workers will take place in March 2014. More than 1,200 women workers are expected to participate.
Colombia With at least 20 trade unionists assassinated in 2012, Colombia continues to be the most dangerous place in the world to be a trade unionist. CUPE’s partnership with the Colombian human rights organization NOMADESC – the Association for Social Research and Action – is building connections and solidarity with Colombian workers and helping to ensure their safety. It also provides us with first-hand information and evidence that exposes the ongoing human rights violations and the link to increased trade and foreign investment in the country.
NOMADESC continues to provide training and support for human rights advocates as they fight for the rights of Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities and trade unions in the southwestern region of Colombia. It helps communities by accompanying their members as they make their way through the legal system to defend their rights. Most essentially, its research into specific cases of human rights violations and its work with trade unions, individuals and communities provide the strength many vulnerable workers need in the struggle for their rights.
International Solidarity Report 2012-2013 – 19