The negotiating power of Colombia's hydrocarbon-, mining-, and electricity-sector unions are likely to increase substantially with the proposed creation of a mega union.
Outlook and implications |
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Risks | Labour relations |
Sectors or assets | Oil and gas; Mining; Electricity |
Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos is keen to attract new investments in hydrocarbons and mining.
PA.31362409
On 17 July, Colombia's Oil Workers' Union (Unión Sindical Obrera De La Industria del Petróleo: USO) met with representatives of the Coal Mining Union (Sintracarbon) and the Electricity Workers' Union (Sintraelecol) to discuss the merging of the three organisations into a energy and mining mega union. The meeting was also attended by members of Colombia's main trade union federation – the Central Unitaria De Trabajadores (CUT) – and the IndustriALL Global Union – a Geneva based international union federation representing 50 million mining, energy, and manufacturing workers who support the initiative. According to USO national director Edwin Castaño, the creation of a mega union was needed to counteract the lobbying power of large multinationals and present a united front on issues of workers' rights and environmental protection. The new organisation would be a single union rather than a federation.
According to Castaño, the new organisation would represent some 170,000 workers across the oil and gas, mining and, electricity sectors. In the oil and gas sector, USO members are employed by state oil company Ecopetrol as well as private firms such as Occidental, Petrobras, and Halliburton. Members of Sintracarbon are employed by the Cerrejón coal-mining project, operated by BHP Billiton, Glencore, and Anglo American, as well as several mines operated by US firm Drummond. Members of Sintraelecol work for both state- and privately owned energy-sector companies including Gas Natural Fenosa and Enel.
Industrial action risks
Of the three unions, USO has proven the most militant over the last two years. The union has been involved in several localised protests over wages and access to work against Ecopetrol operations in Barrancabermeja (Santander), Apiay (Meta), and Cartagena (Bolívar). A national-level strike has not been seen for more than a decade but USO has repeatedly threatened to launch such action, most recently in March 2017 over wage and workers rights issues. The drop in oil price and subsequent contraction of the industry since oil prices fell in 2014 has put significant pressure on labour relations. In 2016, Colombia's oil and gas chamber CAMPETROL estimated that the sector would lose close to 60,000 jobs as a result of the contraction. The coal mining unions have been less militant in recent years but maintain the culture and capacity to engage in disruptive strikes. In September 2013, a strike at Drummond's La Loma coal mine lasted 54 days. Workers at the Cerrejón mine regularly threaten industrial action during wage negotiations. Sintraelecol is the least militant of the three unions and rarely engages in national-level protests or strikes.
Outlook and implications
The creation of the union is not a foregone conclusion. Attempts by USO, Sintracarbon, and Sintraelecol to co-ordinate activities through a central mechanism have been tried and failed, most recently in 2014 with the abandoned Sindicato Unico Mineroenergético (SUME). A press release by USO reports that internal divisions within USO had led to the previous failures. If successful, the creation of the new organisation is the bargaining power of unionised workers in the oil and gas, mining, and electricity sectors is likely to increase significantly. Beyond wage demands, the union is likely to pressurise firms in affected industries to reduce the use of third-party contractors, which they argue undermine wages and workers rights such as health and pension benefits. It is also likely to block any attempts at privatising Ecopetrol or remaining public-sector energy utilities. The effects of a national strike by the union would be substantial, affecting dozens of hydrocarbon, mining, and electricity projects across the country. A national strike is unlikely to result in violence but would probably involve road blockades and site occupations.