A Colombian court has ruled that a strike by coal railway workers is illegal. The ruling gives the company the ability to fire workers who have participated in the strike, which began three weeks ago, and has stopped over 50% of coal exportation. The union says that they will appeal the ruling, but are still figuring out their plan in the meantime. A company-held vote to end the strike on Monday led to workers voting to end the strike, a move the union called illegal. The company says that both the ruling and the vote mean that workers should return to their jobs.
See "Colombia court rules strike at country's main coal railway illegal", Jack Kimball, Reuters, August 14, 2012