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Colombian union USO reaches agreement

10 January, 2013The violent 4-month labour conflict between Unión Sindical Obrera de la Industria Petróleo (USO) and oil field services contractor Termotécnica ended in agreement on 22 December 2012.

USO dedicated the new deal to the memory of Milton Parra Rivas, the USO activist leading the permanent workers’ assembly at Termotécnica, assassinated by gunmen on 11 December 2012 because of his role in the labour conflict.

IndustriALL Global Union mobilized affiliates and supporters in solidarity with USO’s 1,100 members in the Colombian municipality of Puerto Gaitán on several occasions during the four-month conflict, and joined bargaining sessions to demonstrate the international support for USO to the company.

Hundreds of letters to the Termotécnica management were sent through the IndustriALL website’s Take Action page. International efforts were taken by IndustriALL and Spanish affiliates to pressure the company CEPCOLSA to which Termotécnica supplied services, and CEPCOLSA’s parent company in Spain CEPSA. Each of the three sets of management refused to bargain in good faith with USO, in breach of Colombian labour law.

There was shocking complicity between local management, military, police and local authorities in attempting unsuccessfully to break the strike. The main factor in winning the new collective agreement was USO’s unity and strength. Workers were offered economic incentives to quit the USO and return to work. The employers hired new workers with better salary conditions in order to replace striking employees. 

The 22 December agreement ended the conflict and includes very significant advances for USO’s members at the contractor, although some union demands were dropped to reach the deal. The deal states the management’s recognition of USO as its representative industrial relations partner, confirms management’s responsibility for the workers’ residential camps, and assures respect for all contract workers of smaller firms paid by Termotécnica.

The agreement sets out 512,000,000 Colombian Pesos (or 221,000 euros) to be distributed among the 254 Termotécnica workers through various mechanisms. The agreement commits management to not take any reprisal measures against union members for their role in the conflict, or any other anti-union tactics.

IndustriALL salutes USO for this important victory and thanks those that took action in support of USO.