The company reported that it was forced to temporarily suspend the contracts of the workers and their contractors.
Cerrejón reported that it was forced to suspend operations due to the lack of fuel that the company has suffered due to two blockades. The situation has prevented the transportation of coal and the delivery of water to the communities. In addition, they have prevented the arrival of essential supplies for the mining operation, which are transferred from Puerto Bolívar.
One of the two blockades began on May 5, and according to the company it is led by a group of former workers who are on the railway line.
“These people, who had been terminated last February, went to the de facto means to demand their reinstatement to the company or additional compensation to those legally established, despite the existence of legal channels to claim any right they consider to have. The company has been open to different instances of rapprochement in which active listening spaces have been proposed if the railway line was unblocked, however, the former workers rejected this possibility, ”Cerrejón said in a statement.
To deal with the blockage of the railway line, the company hired tanker trucks to take it by road as a temporary solution.
However, Cerrejón denounces that on Thursday, May 20, members of the Media Luna community blocked the entrance to the facilities, demanding jobs and other requests, preventing any vehicle from leaving the port.
Due to the lack of fuel, Cerrejón reported that it was forced “to temporarily suspend the contracts of the workers, as well as those of our contractors, who cannot provide their services due to the lack of fuel.”
