It is with great sadness that BWI announces the sudden passing of our dear friend and comrade Fredy Jara Ortega on 8 November 2019.
“The BWI extends its sincere sympathies to his family and comrades. He was wholeheartedly committed to the trade union movement and working to improve the lives of construction workers. At BWI Fredy was instrumental in delivering a number of union victories in not only in Peru but the Southern Cone. He was a great organizer, a comrade and friend. He will be deeply missed,” stated Ambet Yuson, BWI General Secretary.
Jara Ortega was born in Puente de Piedra, a municipality of Lima, Peru. Having come from a longline of construction workers on his maternal side, he was very familiar with the difficulties and challenges construction workers faced every day.
He also came from a trade union household, as his father rose from the ranks of local leadership to become of one of the founders of the now s Federation of Workers in Civil Construction of Peru, the FTCCP.
With this background, it was only natural that Fredy Jara Ortega would join the trade union movement. He began his union life by promoting the creation of trade unions in his local region and then later in Lima. He became a member of the FTCCP National Executive Board in 1996, where he served as Secretary of Health and Safety at Work with responsibilities throughout the country.
In 2008 he joined the Building and Wood Workers’ International Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office as Project Coordinator for the Southern Cone.
At BWI, he was responsible for a number of regional safety and health campaigns included the "25 Kilos, No More!” campaign which called on the industry to reduce the weight of cements bags to improve the safety and quality of life of construction workers. He also contributed to the “A Death, A Strike!” campaign which raised safety awareness in the construction industry to prevent deaths and accidents at work.
In addition to his work on safety and health, Jara Ortega coordinated hundreds of workshops, conferences and seminars and supported and participated in a series of strikes and mobilizations, risking his own life due to the repressive government in Peru. He also coordinated the Network of Construction Unions of Odebrecht that BWI articulated established in 2010.
“Fredy Jara Ortega was a militant and tireless promoter who selflessly gave his life to the noble and justice causes for the working people of this region,” said Nilton Freitas, Regional Representative of BWI to Latin-American and Caribbean.
Despite his retirement, in 2016, Jara Ortega continued to be active in the trade union movement. He advised and supported the establishment of trade unions in the BWI sectors in Peru.
He died on the morning of 8 November from complications arising from lung cancer in Lima, Peru.