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20 March, 2006
A strike by oil-service contractors in Ecuador was put down by the military, following a state of emergency imposed in three Amazon region provinces by President Alfredo Palacio. The 48-hour strike, 6 and 7 March, in which five of the company’s largest oil fields were occupied, was conducted by 4,000 contract workers employed by 50 contract firms responsible to state-run Petroecuador.
The contract workers, who work under 15-day, 20-day and 30-day term contracts, had not been paid in three months due to a dispute between the Finance Ministry and Petroecuador. The army put down the strike with tear gas and other forceful means and the leader of the oil workers’ federation, Remigio Sornoze, was jailed. Not only were the workers seeking their rightful back wages, but demands also include permanent employment by Petroecuador, and reforms to the budgetary law that regulates the oil company.
The strike curtailed over 40% of Ecuador’s 535,000 barrel-per-day production, costing the nation US$20 million. The South American country depends on Petroecuador for 43% of its revenues.