Trade unionists declare in permanent assembly at Ecopetrol refinery

The USO protesters blocked the entrance to the Barrancabermeja refinery, demanding job improvements and saying no to ‘fracking’. The oil company says that the situation puts the supply of fuel at risk.

Since yesterday, Tuesday, May 25, members of the Unión Sindical Obrera (USO) have been located at the entrance to the Ecopetrol refinery in Barrancabermeja and declared themselves in a permanent assembly.

Trade unionists from the USO, which includes workers in the energy sector, joined the national strike marches and expressed their rejection of certain actions by the state oil company.

Also read: Blockades and protests would force to rethink Ecopetrol’s business plan for 2021

According to its president, Edwin Palma, they oppose Ecopetrol selling shares to private equity and ask for better working conditions for outsourced employees.

They also ask that he refrain from “fracking” and ask him for concrete actions in the context of the pandemic, such as the creation of social jobs.

This Wednesday, Ecopetrol rejected the obstruction of the access roads to the refinery and said that this situation puts the supply of fuel at risk, violates the right to work and prevents the free mobilization of workers and families residing in the facilities. from the refinery.

“The refining of hydrocarbons in Colombia is an activity of public utility and constitutes an essential service for health care and passenger transportation. Its suspension puts fundamental rights at risk, ”the company said in a statement.

Other economic news today: Colombian businessmen will meet with the US authorities to discuss the blockades

According to the oil company, today the Barrancabermeja refinery load remains at more than 200,000 barrels per day and generates an average of 2,500 jobs through allied companies. He also recalled that fuels are essential to attend to the pandemic.