Key actors from Colombia’s main agricultural supply chains conclude diploma programme on living wages and incomes

Bogotá (ILO News) - More than 30 representatives of workers' organisations and companies from the coffee, banana and palm oil sectors, as well as government actors at national and regional level, completed the RURALIA diploma programme on living wages and incomes, promoted by the ILO. This comprehensive training process strengthened the technical capacities of all stakeholders to progressively advance towards living wages in agricultural supply chains linked to European markets.

With a total duration of 100 hours (including in-person, virtual and asynchronous sessions), the diploma programme enabled participants to deepen their knowledge of wage determinants, payment and remuneration mechanisms, wage gaps, collective bargaining and working time, contributing to informed and evidence-based social dialogue.

The closing session, held in Santa Marta, included field visits to companies in the banana and palm oil sectors, allowing participants to gain first-hand insight into production dynamics and wage practices in the region.

In the banana sector, in coordination with the Colombian Banana Growers Association (AUGURA), participants visited the Nueva Esperanza farm in the department of Magdalena. During the visit, different production processes were presented and experiences related to remuneration mechanisms implemented in the sector were shared.

In the palm oil sector, the visit to the company GREMCA, carried out with the support of the National Federation of Oil Palm Growers (FEDEPALMA), provided an opportunity to further explore the role of collective bargaining as a tool for improving working conditions and productivity.

Jhon Jairo Agudelo, representative of the National Union of Agricultural and Fruit Industry Workers (SINALTRAIFRU), Chigorodó branch, and participant in the diploma programme, highlighted "how banana producers, despite being small-scale producers, do everything possible to provide workers with a decent wage". He also underscored the experiences of labour organisation and collective bargaining in the palm oil sector. "I was very impressed by the role of the workers. We can learn from their collective agreement so that both workers and the company can prosper," he stated.

The diploma programme forms part of the actions under the project Setting living wages/incomes in agriculture, through which the ILO promotes spaces for technical cooperation and social dialogue at regional and sectoral level, contributing to the strengthening of more equitable and sustainable supply chains aligned with the principles of decent work.