The Neoliberal Onslaught Against Telecom Workers (1947-2003)

Abstract

Telecom was one of the most important, strategic and productive state companies of the 20th century until its privatization in 2003
by the government of Uribe Vélez. Inside it, the union struggles of the telecommunications workers organized in different unions were lived: the base union SITTELECOM, the ASITEL and the ATT. The different currents of the left disputed the union hegemony in a
constant fight against the corruption of the directives of the company. At present there is no archive of the Telecom unions because the state persecution ended up eliminating the organized documentation of these unions. However, through the collection of personal files of its workers that contain the publications of organized workers, a first reconstruction of this necessary history is made to know the struggles of Colombian unionism. Telecom workers were the first example of resistance against the implementation of neoliberalism, in the same way they were the first in which the tactics and strategies of this economic policy were applied.