A great controversy has been unleashed in Cartagena following videos were released on the morning of this Thursday, October 13, in which some workers of an Ecopetrol contractor are forced to get off a special service bus that was transporting them to the industrial zone. of Mamnal.
The recordings show the tense moment in which some men, who apparently are trade unionists, get into the vehicle and express themselves to the passengers with a high degree of authoritarianism.
(Read: “They don’t hire Cartagena!”: In Mamonal they protest once morest Ecopetrol)
“Good morning gentlemen, the vast majority of those who are in this vehicle are foreigners, that is why we have come to tell you that you have to leave the city, go to the offices of your contractor, sign and leave Cartagena. We are demanding the right to respect local labor, that is what we are fighting for. I can show you the evidence of how they treat us when we go to their apartment, they put weapons around our necks and kick us out, so all of you have to go back. Notice that we are here with the authorities because we are respecting their physical integrity, put yourself in our place. It is not possible for them to bring in a mechanic, a welder, an aligner or a pipe fitter from outside when we here have the people with the necessary skills and experience that are required in the Cartagena Refinery for those positions. We demand respect, so gentlemen, those who are not from the city of Cartagena, I am very sorry, but they have to withdraw now, ”is heard in the recording, which quickly went viral on social networks.
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Immediately followingwards, another video shows how, in effect, the uniformed workers get off the bus one by one, in the face of the rejection of a crowd that below yells at them phrases like “get out of here”, “this is not Barranca” or “that let the barranqueños go”.
It should be noted that precisely this October at the Refinery a ‘Plant Shutdown’ began that generates around 1,400 jobs.
“90 percent are from Cartagena”
Given the controversial situation, this outlet contacted the company Ecopetrol to find out its position on the matter, and through a statement they responded that it is not true that there is exclusion of local labor in the projects carried out by the company, but quite the opposite. , the majority of workers are from Cartagena and specifically inhabitants of the surrounding neighborhoods.
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“After 6 years and 11 consecutive months of operation, the Cartagena refinery began the scheduled maintenance of the Crude Oil Distillation, Hydrogen Generation and Hydrocracking process units.
The preventive maintenance work called ‘Plant Shutdown’, which began on October 10 for the Hydrogen Generation and Hydrocracking units, and today, October 13 for the Crude Oil Unit, generates a total of 1,400 jobs, through contractor companies that carry out the required work. Of the people hired, 90% correspond to inhabitants of Cartagena, a figure that may increase during the development of the stop. As usual, the communities surrounding the Refinery are prioritized, such as Pasacaballos, 20 de Julio, Nelson Mandela, Policarpa, Ceballos, Arroz Barato, Albornoz, among others,” the company detailed.
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days will take the works for the Crude Oil Unit.
Likewise, and before the controversy raised today, the company explained that only 10% of the workers are not from Cartagena but from other municipalities of Bolívar, Colombia or other countries, since they hold positions that require specialized profiles.
“As leaders of the Cartagena refinery, we are aware that shutdowns boost the economy of the city and the region. For this reason, it is so important for us to have competent personnel, and to achieve this we are advancing, in alliance with the Sena, training in order to generate more job opportunities not only for the Refinery but for other companies in the city,” said Geonavis Hernández. , General Manager (e) of the Cartagena Refinery.
The Plant Shutdown has a cycle of approximately 4 years, and its objective is to inspect the equipment for repairs, replacement of parts, technical or process improvements that allow the original functionality of the equipment to be recovered or even improved.
“We prioritize local labor. In an articulated work with the leaders of the communities and the local authorities, it is verified that the people we hire are from Cartagena and that is done through the neighborhood certificates that they issue”, said Carlos Tatis, head of Ecopetrol’s Caribbean Supply.
In the first half of 2022, for tasks other than the Shutdown, the Cartagena refinery, through the contracting companies, hired 5,960 workers.
