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8 February, 2010
The workers’ trade union of Cosmos Petroleum Services, Peru, has begun an indefinite strike action following two years of unsuccessful attempts to halt abuses of labour rights in the country. Cosmos is an outsource contractor to Brazilian oil and gas multinational Petrobras. Petrobras Peru’s centre of operations is located at Lote X in the El Alto Province, where the conflict is now occurring with workers calling on Petrobras to take responsibility for the conduct of its contractor.
The minimum monthly wage for a Peruvian Petrobras employee is 950 soles, or US$330, and workers of Cosmos are demanding an increase to receive at least that minimum.
Union General Secretary Julio Rigoberto Alarcón Fiestas points to the contract agreed between Petrobras and Cosmos on 28 February 2008, that sets forth the extremely low for contract workers. He said that service contract did not account for overtime or bonuses, and in fact was in breach of Peruvian national legislation.
He added that even the minimal contractual responsibilities of Cosmos to its staff have not been respected and the union cites numerous abuses, including wage and social benefits below the contractual minimum and information not being made available to workers.
The workers’ union of Cosmos Petroleum Services asks for support in getting their employer to meet its contractual obligations on wages, and on where and how withheld money is used.
The strike is a brave step for the union, as Cosmos management previously had illustrated its contempt toward union activists in the third quarter of 2008 by suspending workers. The company said financial concerns as the reason, despite that period being a boom in the industry. The suspensions were followed by the cancelling of the workers’ reemployment, along with cancellation of all redundancy payments.
These actions were then endorsed by Petrobras but were later met by rulings from Peruvian labour authorities that opposed the unilateral actions. These rulings were ignored by Cosmos management.
Union officials at Cosmos also criticize management for refusing to seek a solution during collective bargaining when the previous agreement ended last year.
The ICEM calls on Petrobras to take responsibility for its outsourced workers at Cosmos Peru, and encourages the Brazilian company to step in and settle this conflict.
Petrobras is the largest company in Latin America and the largest company headquartered in the Southern Hemisphere, with output of more than two million barrels of oil equivalent per day. It is also a major distributor of oil products.