Colombia’s chief prosecutor Eduardo Montealegre has demanded court officials who remain on a controversial strike, to “return to work immediately.”
In an open letter to workers of the Prosecutor General’s Office, Montealegre said “social disputes can be resolved through dialogue.”
The five-point letter appeals for the striking workers “to integrate the technical committee ….. so that the aspirations of employees and officials will be fairly reflected.”
The prosecutor general also wrote that lifting the strike would send a clear message to society in relation to the peace talks with the FARC because it would demonstrate that negotiation is the best way to solve social conflict.
More than 120,000 court cases have been suspended since the strike seeking higher wages and a bigger budget for the judicial system began on October 11.
An agreement between the government and the union Asonal was signed on November 6, however while 80% of workers accepted the deal, judicial employees from Bogota, Cali, Popayan and Cucuta did not return to work, with a dissident faction led by a self-proclaimed union president saying that the deal did not fully meet the demands of the strikers.