20 June, 2011
ICEM’s Colombian oil worker affiliate, USO last week condemned oil giant Ecopetrol, and also the Colombian government, for the exploitation of contract workers at the company’s subsidiary Propilco S.A.
USO were particularly angered to see reports of the Colombian government speaking about the importance of decent work at the International Labour Conference of the ILO, while in fact the opposite is true back in Colombia. The government of President Juan Manuel Santos is complicit in the criminalisation of trade unions in Colombia.
On 7 June, outsourced workers operating at the Propilco installations joined a USO union meeting to brief regular workers of their challenging working conditions. In retaliation, immediately following the meeting, the contractor companies blocked their return to the worksite.
The contractor companies include ASECO-ASAP, Invertrans, and Gomez Mantilla. Propilco S.A. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ecopetrol, and therefore the Ecopetrol is fully responsible for the employees of the above-mentioned contractor firms operating at Propilco.
Common violations of CAL worker rights at Propilco include the following:
ASECO and ASAP retain the worker contracts, meaning workers have no proof of employment, or of their benefits and salary;
CAL workers are not supplied with transportation to work, meaning it is often necessary to cycle to work, through dangerous industrial cargo routes;
Loading workers are paid in relation to the weight of cargo they load, with extremely low wages;
CAL workers do not have access to a canteen;
Employers disregard their legal responsibility for employee breaks, training, maximum shift length, and holiday leave;
Some workers have worked 20 years for the contractor, but still do not have adequate housing;
Invertrans sacked five employees on 8 June, without legal process, causing fear throughout Propilco that involvement in union activities will result in dismissal.
The ICEM joins USO in condemning these conditions for CAL workers.