UITBB launches international campaign against the killings of trade union officials in Peru

UITBB launches international campaign against the killings of trade union officials in Peru

The issue is the rise of violence in construction sites in the country. As you undoubtedly know, the problem started around 2004 with the construction ‘boom’ in Peru, thanks to the automatic obtaining of authorisations from the Labour Ministry (MTPE) for criminal organisations to act under the façade of a “trade union” and grew due to a lack of political will to fight against this phenomenon. Although administrative measures were adopted, such as the creation of the National Register of Civil Construction Workers (RETCC), they were insufficient to deal with the problem. The result was for criminals, a lot of them ex-prisoners, to pass as ‘trade unionists’, causing a surge in violence on construction sites, the extortion of businesspeople, threats against legal trade unions such as the FTCCP and, unfortunately, the killing of FTCCP trade union officials and leaders, mainly in the north of the country and in Callao. Since 2011, 20 officials have been killed.

Our member-organisation, FTCCP, has been fighting against this phenomenon, but we are asking for your help to put an end to such practices. What is more, UITBB is contacting all international labour organisations such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and elsewhere, asking its members around the world to do the same, so that pressure can be exercised towards the end of such brutal actions against trade unionists. We take this issue very seriously, as we consider it another chapter in our class fight against the reactionary forces who oppose democratisation, against corruption and against everything that worsens the lives and working conditions of the workers.

We ask:
– A banning of the registration of such pseudo-trade unions which do not comply with the
law requirements (Law on Collective Labour Relations), in accordance with the provisions of
the Eleventh Complementary Provision of Legislative Decree 1187.
– A swift investigation of all the killings of trade union officials and trials for those
responsible.
– Protection of all legal trade union activities in the future.

Leaders Position Province/location Date
JORGE ARTURO CORREA PIEDRA Secretary General Union of Workers in Civil  Construction
in Chepen Province
19/3/2011
JORGE ANTONIO VARGAS GUILLEN Organisational Secretary San Pedro de Lloc (Pacasmayo, La Libertad) 19/8/2011
ARMANDO VIERA ROSALES Organisational Secretary CALLAO 10/2/2012
GUILLERMO YACILA UBILLUS Under Secretary General CALLAO 3/7/2012
RUBEN SOBERON ESTELA Secretary General Sectional Lambayeque 7/8/2012
FAVIO CARBONERO TOCASQUE Secretary General CAÑETE 19/10/2012
GILMER CASTRO ARTEAGA Secretary General PARAMONGA 4/4/2013
CESAR GARCIA CHINCHAY Sec. of Discipline PARAMONGA 7/6/2013
JESUS ANIBAL RUIZ DIAZ Secretary General BARRANCA 21/10/2013
SATURNINO HUGO RODRIGUEZ SANTOS Organisational Secretary WORKPLACE COMMITTEE – LIMA TU 8/3/2014
CARLOS ENRIQUE MALASQUEZ BASTANTE Organisational Secretary CALLAO 25/11/2014
MARTIN ALFONSO VEGA HUASHUAYO Organisational Secretary VISTA ALEGRE (Ica) 19/3/2015
VICTOR ROBERTO RODAS MEDINA Secretary General GUADALUPE (La Libertad) 10/7/2015
MIGUEL FERNANDO COTELO VILLANUEVA Secretary Economic Affairs CASMA 18/7/2015
EBERTH VIGORIA VIVANCO Secretary General San Luis (Cañete) 1/10/2015
ÓSCAR AUGUSTO CÉSPEDES BALCÁZAR Defence Secretary SULLANA 30/7/2016
ÁNGEL  ULISES GONZALES DE LAS CASAS Under Secretary General Ventanilla – Callao 3/11/2017
JOSÉ AUGUSTO BECERRA URIOL Secretary General San Pedro de Lloc (Pacasmayo, La Libertad) 24/6/2019
JERSON HENRY NOÉ SUÁREZ Defence Secretary Sullana (Piura) 13/7/2020
EDWIN NIEVES VILLEGAS Secretary General Sullana (Piura) 11/2/2021

The UITBB Secretariat