GM workers in Colombia sew mouths shut in protest

GM Colombia protesters in Bogota, pictured from left, Carlos Trujillo, Manuel Ospina
and Jorge Parra, have sewn their mouths together to prevent them from eating.

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA—Nine days into a hunger strike in which he has sewn shut his mouth, Jorge Parra, a former worker for General Motors in Colombia, says his condition is deteriorating. “I have terrible pains in my stomach, my lips are swollen and sore, and I am having problems sleeping,” he says. “But I will not give up.”

The 35-year-old is one of a group of men who say they were fired after suffering severe workplace injuries at GM’s Bogota factory, Colmotores, and have taken drastic action to demand compensation.

After protesting for a year outside the United States embassy with no results, four of the ex-workers sewed shut their mouths on August 1, followed by another three men a week later. More will undergo the procedure every week until their complaints are answered, they say.

“We are all totally prepared to die,” says Parra, whose lips are sewn tight enough to prevent chewing, but not so tight he can’t speak with some degree of difficulty.

Parra claims nine years soldering and doing other metal work for GM left him with herniated discs, severe carpal tunnel syndrome and tearing in muscles around his upper spine.

The Association of Injured Workers and Ex-Workers of Colmotores (Asotrecol), which Parra set up, says GM erased company medical records and failed to compensate employees who were injured on the job — claims the car company denies.