SINDICATO NACIONAL DE TRABAJADORES DE LA

                                                                        INDUSTRIA DEL CARBON                                                                                               “SINTRACARBON”

                                      Personería Jurídica No. 000109 del 18 de enero de 1996

PEDAGOGICAL WORK OF THE MAICAO SECTION

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING COLLECTIVE LABOR CONFLICTS AND CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS

What is a Collective Labor Conflict?

A Collective Labor Conflict is a process defined by Colombian law.  It is a controversy between employers and workers about the conditions of employment.  It could also be called a conflict between capital and labor about the cost of labor and the distribution of the profits generated by the capitalist productive process.  The conflict begins with the presentation of a Bargaining Proposal.  In our case, it began on November 20, when Sintracarbón delivered its bargaining proposal to the company.

What is the purpose of a Collective Labor Conflict?

The Conflict is the result of workers’ desire to, through their union, change their working conditions.  These conditions include rights guaranteed by the law, conditions imposed by employment contracts, rights included in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.  When workers want to create new rights, or change or eliminate aspects of their current working conditions, they present and negotiate a Bargaining Proposal.

What are the steps in a Collective Labor Conflict?

The conflict begins with the presentation of a Bargaining Proposal, followed by the stage of Direct Resolution.  If agreement is not arrived at during this stage, a strike vote will be carried out, and then a date will be chosen to initiate a strike.

What is the Bargaining Proposal?

The Bargaining Proposal is a document that contains workers’ proposals to change the rights existing under their current contract, create new rights, or reform their working conditions.  It is also the first step in a collective labor conflict.  In our case, the proposal is written and approved by the union’s National Delegates’ Assembly.

How does the law mandate that workers and their unions can present the Bargaining Proposal, and obligate the company to negotiate with us?

The employer is legally obligated to negotiate based on the Bargaining Proposal presented by the workers.  This obligation is based on the Colombian Constitution and on International Agreements that grant workers the right to make proposals and negotiate collectively with their employers.  The law also regulates the process for the delivery and discussion of these proposals.

Can the company present a counterproposal?

No, only the workers have the legal right to present a proposal.  Only the issues raised by the workers in their proposal will be discussed at the negotiating table.  The company can raise its own proposals during the negotiations, but legally, these are not considered “counterproposals.”

What is the announcement of termination of the Collective Bargaining Agreement?

This is a written statement by one or both of the parties (the company and the union), prepared separately or jointly, presented to the Ministry of Social Protection, which terminates the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement.  This opens the process for collective negotiations to establish a new agreement to govern working conditions that will partly or completely replace the previous agreement.  Our current Agreement was terminated by the union in Bogota on November 20 2006.

Who negotiates the contract?

According to the law, the union names a bargaining committee to present and negotiate its bargaining proposal.  In our case, the committee is elected by the Sintracarbón Delegates’ Assembly, and consists of six members.  Both the union’s and the company’s negotiating teams are invested with the authority to ratify and sign the agreements in the name of their constituents.

What is the Bargaining Conditions Agreement?

This is the result of discussions preceding the official start to negotiations.  It sets the general terms under which the bargaining will take place.  The Agreement generally covers the logistics of the negotiations.  In this case, the Bargaining Conditions Agreement was signed on December 1.

What is the direct resolution stage?

This is the first stage of the collective bargaining process.  The parties meet and discuss the bargaining proposal and, if possible, arrive at an agreement.  The direct resolution stage lasts for 20 calendar days and can be extended, by mutual agreement, for 20 more days.  In the current conflict, the direct resolution stage began on December 4 and will continue until December 23.  It can then be extended, if the parties agree, until January 12, 2007.

What if no agreement is reached?

This means that the conflict has not been resolved.  The workers then must choose to either vote for a strike, or turn to an Arbitration Tribunal.  This vote, according to the law, must be carried out within 10 working days of the end of the direct resolution stage.

What is a strike?

The strike is a right guaranteed to workers by the Constitution.  The law defines a strike as a collective, temporary, and peaceful suspension of work carried out by workers in a workplace or company, to achieve economic and professional goals that have been proposed to the company, and carried out within the framework established by the law.

Who participates and is affected by a strike?

All of the company’s workers, union and non-union, including high-level and management employees (MPT’s), and contract workers who are employed by the company.  This includes workers who did not vote, or who voted against the strike.

Will a strike affect my income?

Yes, because during a strike the work contract is suspended.  But this sacrifice is the only legal means we have to pressure the company to agree to the workers’ proposals.

Who participates in a strike vote?

The workers participate through a secret ballot vote.  The vote can not be delegated.  Our union also ratifies this vote through the National Delegates’ Assembly.

What is “zero hour”?

Zero hour is the moment when, after a strike vote is carried out, the union makes the decision to actually begin the strike.  According to the law, this may happen between the 2nd and the 10th working day after the vote.

When is a strike illegal?

In our case, a strike would be illegal only if we do not comply with the steps prescribed by the law, that is, if no legitimate strike vote is carried out, or if the strike is not begun during the period when it is permitted.  Thus during or after a strike no worker can be dismissed, because a strike is not a just cause for termination employment.

Why is an Arbitration Tribunal a bad idea?

We can offer the following reasons:  1) Historically they have never ruled in favor of the workers; 2) It takes the conflict out of the workers’ hands and allows OTHERS to make the decisions; 3) The composition of the tribunal is unfavorable to the workers, because it consists of three members: one from the company, one from the union, and one from the Ministry of Labor; 4) The ruling cannot affect rights or responsibilities recognized by the law or by the existing collective bargaining agreement.  This means it excludes discussion of the new bargaining proposal, which is under negotiation, and which was created precisely to improve upon the existing the agreement, or to create new rights; 5) The time allotted for resolution is unlimited, and while arbitration is ongoing, workers cannot begin another collective conflict.

Am I protected during the conflict?

Yes.  You are protected by what is called the “circumstantial guarantee.”  This guarantees that no worker can be dismissed without just cause after the date that the bargaining petition is delivered - November 20 - during the period defined by law for the resolution of the conflict.