Up to 6,000 jobs are at risk in Colombia’s Risaralda department, Radio Caracol reported on Thursday.
Trade unions in the Risaralda department have written to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to alert him to imminent problems concerning job losses and a growing rate of unemployment.
Fears have been caused due to sustained periods of road blocks in the region that are preventing business from functioning as the protests continue. The unions have written to Santos asking that he assist local businesses in the task of continuing to perform while the protests are taking place.
In a letter published by Radio Caracol, the unions said that “our industries are not recieving the input or raw materials required to function and our services are not able to export their products to their markets.”
They continued to say that “our fears continue to grow when we see that some industries have been forced to close partially or totally, or make strong cuts to staff.”
The news that 6000 jobs are on the line will be particularly unwelcome news for the Santos administration, who before the strikes and protests were celebrating the fact that unemployment had been at its lowest rate in a decade.
MORE: Unemployment in Colombia falls to lowest rate in decade: Govt
Some of the requests made by the unions of Risaralda include the assistance of commercial and military aircraft to fly products to the necessary markets and therefore avoid the roadblocks.
Risaralda
Sources
- 6.000 empleos están en riesgo en Risaralda (Radio Caracol)
