By Nelson Bocanegra
BOGOTA, June 2 (Reuters) – The main union at Colombia’s state-run oil company Ecopetrol launched a 24-hour strike on Tuesday, protesting what it called a deadlock in negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement.
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The stoppage began at 0500 local time (1000 GMT), USO union president Martin Ravelo told Reuters.
USO represents workers at Ecopetrol, Colombia’s biggest company and one of Latin America’s largest energy producers. Ravelo said the union includes 25,000 workers employed directly by Ecopetrol and its contractors.
He said there had been no progress on any of the union’s demands after 25 days of talks, with 14 days left before the current stage of direct negotiations expires.
In an earlier statement posted on X, USO accused an Ecopetrol executive of failing to respond to the union’s proposals and of delaying negotiations.
Ecopetrol said it remained open to dialogue and had activated a contingency plan to protect workers and maintain operations.
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“The company has implemented the necessary operational measures at its facilities and workplaces to ensure continuity of the essential public service under its responsibility and to mitigate any possible operational impact,” Ecopetrol said in a statement.
Workers at Ecopetrol’s Barrancabermeja refinery told Reuters that access to the industrial complex had been restricted.
UNION DEMANDS
Sources within the company said the union is seeking a pay rise for unionized workers equal to inflation plus 20% in the first year of the agreement.
For each of the following four years, the union is asking for raises equivalent to inflation plus 10%, as well as shorter working hours.
The union is also seeking broader health and education benefits for workers, a proposal the sources said could cost about 90 trillion pesos ($25.28 billion).
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(Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell)
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