The sugar refinery is Maria Luisa, which laid off 183 organized sugar cane cutters associated with Cooperativa de Trabajo Asociado (CTA) and outsourced the employees, now working under contractors. The move is rejected by the Movement 14 de Junio, which comprises thousands of cutters of that Colombian region.

Precisely in October of 2008, a big conflict paralyzed the main sugar refineries located amid the vast sugar cane extensions, against the lack of recognition of the cutters’ rights and the role of the intermediaries in contracting workers.

The other members of the Movement are following this situation with concern and pushing the Colombian Congress and the country’s Labor Ministry.

Real World Radio interviewed Jose Oney Valencia, legal spokesperson of the Movement 14 de Junio. “We came out of the slavery of contractors, which is why we accepted the cooperatives, because they gave us more autonomy”, said the leader of the sugar cane cutters.

The region of Valle del Cauca, one of the most fertile areas of Colombia, is affected by sugar cane monoculture plantations, which is intensifying since ethanol production began, to commercialize it in the US.

This agribusiness has led to the growth of this crop, which uses large quantities of water and labor. However, the large profits generated have not led to the improvement of the living standards of tens of sugar cane cutters from all over Colombia, who live on the activity.