Workers of the Petroecuador Company Committee (Cetrapep), led by Jinsop Martínez, held a protest this Wednesday, January 18, on the ground floor of the public company’s main building, located on Alpallana street, in the north of Quito, which prevented the passage of administrative officials to their workplaces.
The protest took place, among other issues, to request an urgent meeting of the workers with the President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso, in which they would present their observations on the oil policy; likewise, asking for a series of labor improvements and, above all, compliance with court rulings in favor of the workers.
As soon as the measure became known, the company EP Petroecuador expressed its rejection of the acts carried out by the Workers’ Company Committee since, according to the statement, they had “abusely interrupted the normal working hours of the employees of the public company, who are currently teleworking so as not to interrupt their daily work for the benefit of the country”.
The statement indicated that the actions of the union organization may be framed within the provisions of article 346 of the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code, which sanctions the seizure of a public building by force, violating the provisions of articles 313 and 326 of the Constitution. .
It also indicated that in view of the threats received and the closure of access to the central buildings in Quito and passing through on the surrounding roads, “the National Police intervened in a dissuasive manner to protect the integrity of the officials of the facilities, of the free mobility in place.
The company ratified “its respect for the union organization and the expression of workers in defense of legitimate and legal rights” and rejects actions that violate the interests of the company and therefore of the State, he said.
In any case, it was learned that despite the dissuasive actions of the Police, the workers continue in the basement of the building and were even willing to put up a tent to stay in the place indefinitely.
Parallel to the de facto measure, the workers had sent a public letter to President Guillermo Lasso to indicate that the Petroecuador workers are convinced that the current manager, Hugo Aguiar Lozano, “is unaware of the oil industry, since the company all Ecuadorians generate economic losses every day due to the drop in production, due to the ignorance of these bad administrators”.
The claim extended to all the administrations appointed by this Government, that is, to Pablo Luna, Ítalo Cedeño and finally Aguiar. According to the workers, no one has managed to get the company on track. In the letter they state that Petroecuador’s average daily production was 393,532 barrels as of May 2021. They consider that up to December 2022 there has been an accumulated loss of 15,007,629 barrels, considering $70 and excluding the rise in oil in February As of August, for the war between Russia and Ukraine, some $1,050 million was not received from May 2021 to December 2022, they say. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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