Advancing Labor Compliance in Colombia’s Port Sector

Colombia’s port sector was identified for improved labor law enforcement in the Colombian Action Plan Related to Labor Rights and remains an important priority for bilateral engagement under the U.S. – Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement.  Despite Colombia’s adoption of new and revised laws, regulations, and other legal instruments to improve labor law enforcement and promote employers’ labor compliance through the establishment of direct employment relationships, significant labor challenges remain for workers in Colombia’s port sector.  While the use of worker cooperatives that do not truly represent workers has decreased in ports, other forms of abusive subcontracting have increased, often keeping workers in informality.  With many subcontractors and labor intermediaries operating unscrupulously or informally without adequate oversight, fundamental labor rights, enrollments in social security, and acceptable conditions of work have often been unmet.  Many subcontracted, short-term, dock-based positions in Buenaventura and in other ports are filled by Afro-Colombians, who historically have higher rates of labor informality and unemployment, and who face challenges with discrimination and political representation.  Labor-related conflict in Colombia’s ports is high, sometimes resulting in work stoppages and strikes that affect key sectors of the Colombian economy and livelihoods across the country as well as U.S. companies operating in Colombia.