Reuters: Colombian Students, Unions launch third national strike

Workers and Students marched together Wednesday as a general strike has shut down Colombia for the third time since November 21st, Reuters reports.

The strike is in response to a government which, protesters say, is not taking the concerns of the people of Colombia serious. This is evidenced, they contend, by the fact that the government is pushing through a tax overhaul opposed by strikers while simultaneously meeting with representatives from the committee organizing the demonstrations.

Along with opposition to the tax overhaul, workers are calling for greater protections for human rights activists, support for demobilized rebels following the country's historic peace deal, dissolving the riot police, and rejections of a raise in pension age and a cut in the minimum wage.