It is the second blockade faced by the company, which led it to stop operations and suspend contracts for workers and collaborators.
The contracting companies that provide their services in Cerrejón published a letter condemning the new blockade on the mine’s railway lines, warning that it puts thousands of families who depend on the company for their livelihood at risk.
“Cerrejón’s contractor companies join forces, once again, to demand an end to the illegal blockades on the railroad, which endanger the job security of all those who work directly and indirectly in the production and export of coal. in La Guajira ”, indicate the contracting companies of Cerrejón in their letter”.
They add that “with the blockade of the railway line, Cerrejón is affected; thousands of families who depend on the company for their livelihood; to the communities and municipalities in the area of influence that benefit from the economic dynamics; and, above all, La Guajira and Colombia, which stop receiving billions of pesos ”.
Last week there had already been a blockade on the access roads to Cerrejón that caused a shortage of fuel, leading to a halt to the operations of the mine and the company was forced to suspend the contracts of workers and collaborators.
Although the company managed to enable the tracks through an agreement, less than a week later there is a new blockade on the rail lines.
According to Cerrejón, the closure is led by former workers who left the company on February 23. The group went to the de facto means to demand their reinstatement to the mine or additional compensation, since they assure that their departure occurred without just cause.
“In the meeting last Friday, within the dialogue held once the blockade was temporarily lifted, they were informed that the reinstatement was not possible and that, if they did not agree with the compensation, the settlements could be reviewed to ensure that they were made. in the right way. In addition, they were offered support to advance a process of job retraining and entrepreneurship, ”the company explained in a statement on Thursday.
