7 November, 2011
Canadian-based energy company Pacific Rubiales continues to hit new lows in its illegal efforts to put down ICEM affiliate Unión Sindical Obrera (USO) in the Meta region oil fields of Colombia. On 27 October the ICEM reported on the company signing an accord with company union UTEN on deadline day for a settlement with USO.
Now as the USO activists continue to demonstrate en-masse, the company organises gatherings of its yellow union, complete with armed protection including from a company helicopter. At the same time, the company is financing propaganda campaigns exaggerating the small gatherings.
Evidence is now coming to light of the sinister alliance between the company and local mayor of Puerto Gaitán, Edgar Humberto Silva. Evidence suggests that dead people were registered to have voted for the company candidate in the mayoral elections, with local indigenous communities harassed and intimidated into voting for Humberto Silva.
Unsurprisingly then, Humberto Silva has done all in his power to allow the Canadian company to continue exploiting the region’s rich resources and poor workers. Residents of the local community have occupied the school where voting took place and are demanding a re-run of the election. Company union UTEN organised a celebratory march following the election of Humberto Silva on 2 November.
State oil company Ecopetrol is allied with Pacific Rubiales and other multinationals active in the region, in establishing the yellow union and using numerous tactics to crush USO. Ecopetrol is exercising its influence and financial strength by running tens of court cases against USO leaders, while ignoring court rulings that favour the strikers. Ecopetrol is also using its wholly-owned subsidiaries Comai and Propilco to launch legal cases against union activists.
The 28 October joint letter from ICEM, the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) General Secretaries, and Canadian Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union to Pacific Rubiales Co-Chairmen and Executive Directors Serafino Iacono, and Miguel de la Campa, has not received a response.
In the letter, the three trade union organisations condemn the decision of the company to deceive USO in bargaining and then circumvent the legitimate bargaining partner in signing an accord with UTEN. USO represents over 14,000 actual oil workers in the oil fields of Rubiales and Quifa, while UTEN serves only administrative staff.
The day of the false accord signing, Pacific Rubiales discharged 500 workers, and proceeded to intimidate remaining workers with threats of dismissal for remaining members of USO if they refused to switch allegiance to UTEN.
It must be noted that the Colombian government has allowed Pacific Rubiales to abuse all internationally recognised minimum standards on workers’ rights with these recent tactics. And especially disappointing is the abrogation of Ministry of Labour arbitration that established a timeline for reaching settlement between USO and Pacific Rubiales. That deadline was 21 October, the same day Pacific Rubialies signed the bogus accord with the yellow union.
The ICEM fully supports the campaign of USO and its permanent assembly, in place since 24 October, and the original list of demands including direct recruitment, salary increases, decent housing and adequate food, health, transport and social investment to communities.
The CEP will facilitate the USO leadership to travel to Canada and meet the company management in early December.