Oil workers are going on strike again this week due to layoffs and lack of investment.

The Union of Hierarchical and Professional Personnel of Oil, Private Gas and Renewable Energy of Cuyo and La Rioja announced that it will carry out a production stoppage tomorrow at the company Aconcagua Energía, because they have not been able to reach an agreement regarding the intention to lay off workers .

General Secretary Julián Matamala explained that the strike was a response to the fact that, in Confluencia, in the southern region, the oil company wanted to lay off workers, and the union opposed it, but the company remains firm in its decision. The same thing is happening, he said, in the northern region, where the union managed to stop some layoffs, but they insist on laying people off.

Matamala emphasized that Aconcagua has held the concession for more than two years and has gone from a production of 170 m3 to 240 m3, but due to a lack of investment in equipment, it has fallen back to the current 160 m3. He also warned that, during their tour of the fields, they have detected that the storage tanks have not been contained, which poses a risk of contamination in the event of a rupture. He added that, as a union, they are demanding this work, which should be under the supervision of the provincial government.

The company stated that it has no information about the strike and that it has not received any official or unofficial information from the union about the strike that will take place tomorrow.

Pescarmona will control the oil extracted in the province

The oil workers' union has been carrying out other measures of force. Last week, they held a strike at YPF in Malargüe , which they ended when compulsory conciliation was ordered. Therefore, they will meet this Wednesday at the Undersecretary of Labor. The reason was also job losses.

Matamala explained that they know some fields in southern Mendoza will enter new stages of the Andes Plan , under which the state oil company is selling off mature areas to smaller companies. He stated that they are taking action before this happens, so as to avoid a repeat of what happened with the Andes Plan 1, whose prolonged transition has led to the loss of more than 190 workers, between voluntary redundancies and retirements .

He added that senior oil workers are people over 40 years old, who have dedicated their entire lives to the oil industry, and that when they lose their jobs, they often don't know what to do, which is very complicated. However, he emphasized that this reduction in activity also affects other unions and those who provide services to the sector, such as construction workers and truck drivers.