Workers from the Office of the People's Defender in Colombia aim to strengthen their union

This project aims to support on-going capacity building and educational workshops for the Association of employees of the Office of the Peoples Defender in Colombia (ASDEP).

During a recent visit to all field offices, National President of ASDEP, Maria Eva Villate expressed great concern about the difficult conditions and lack of security facing many Human Rights workers in the country. The intention of ASDEP is to strengthen the unity among its members and bring the remaining number of workers into the union, in order to provide them with more economic and social security. This series of workshops will be taking place in several regions of the country where the Defender's office is operating.   The first series of workshops will take place in Fusagasuga from March 30 to April 1, 2006 and will encompass the history of unionism, and its impact on socio-economic rights. The workshops will also address how privatization affects the delivery of essential public services and erodes the labour rights and the working conditions of public service workers. 

The SJF will be providing $10,000 per year over two years to support these workshops aimed at strengthening ASDEP.