At that time, it was agreed that the company would adapt the working hours of the entire project to what is established by current regulations for mining activity and that it would adopt a “compensation and reward system” to compensate for the claim for overtime: they would be returned or would be paid. In addition, they had resolved that by April 30 “compliance with the 1×1 roster system will be regularized in accordance with the provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the Company Agreement project will be submitted for approval within a maximum period of 90 days.” All this was signed on January 22.
At yesterday’s meeting, in addition to highlighting that all this had not been fulfilled, the unions denounced “exploitation and precariousness” in the project. Molina, from AOMA, stressed that “we need to solve some things and it would be much easier with the company’s will.”
“The situation of the workers is public knowledge, we have emphasized the treatment they receive, which we will not allow. We hope to be able to solve it,” he said in journalistic statements. In addition, he said that they will insist on compliance with the rule that establishes that 70% of the staff must be local. “We want Argentines and Catamarcans working,” she claimed.
At the same time, José Vega, from UTHGRA, called for the outsourcing of services, pointing out that the only outsourced service is gastronomy, and that the company is in charge of the hotel in the camp for which there are infinite complaints. “There is zero hygiene in the bathrooms,” he noted.
For his part, Barrientos, from UPSRA (Security), claimed that the employees in the camp “do not receive the corresponding clothing, they do not earn what the agreement establishes nor are they paid overtime.”
“They are being exploited and are even forced to be monotributistas to avoid unionization,” he noted. At that point, he commented that there are 16 security workers in the entire camp, which he considered “a minimum number for such a large project.”
All in one week
The Zijin-Liex company accumulated four negative episodes in the same week. To begin with, he arrived at April 30 without respecting the minutes he had signed at the end of January regarding the improvement in working conditions. Then, last Friday, a company truck carried out a reckless maneuver in the middle of Güemes Avenue in this Capital, in which two motorcyclists were injured. But the most serious thing was what happened to two groups of workers who were stranded for 30 hours in the mountain range due to bad weather conditions.
Regarding this issue, the AOMA secretary stressed that the episode occurred because “the protocol for when there are adverse weather conditions was not respected.”
“The company’s directors ignored even what their technical team from the Hygiene and Safety department recommended. They recommended that he not make the personnel movement,” Molina explained (see page 3).
The claims to the mining company
Failure to comply with the signed commitment to regularize the shift and schedule system within a period of 90 days, which expired on April 30.
Failure to comply with the commitment to regularize the payment of overtime.
There was a commitment to comply with the 1×1 roster system in accordance with the provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was also not fulfilled.
The unions denounced exploitation and job insecurity.
Lack of outsourcing of services for employee care.
The Security employees’ union affirms that the agents in that area do not receive clothing and that the number of personnel hired is insufficient.
Unions continue with the strike
The meeting between the unions that represent the workers and the Government began at 10 and ended around noon. The workers, represented by different unions, continue with the total strike and the main demand is that the mining company comply with the current agreements to avoid exposing them as happened the weekend after the climatic phenomena.
In dialogue with the program Mañana es hoy on Radio Ancasti, Gustavo Molina said that “the first thing is to try to advance in compliance with the current legal regulations that we have for the activity, the labor laws.”
He considered that the danger faced by the workers who were stranded for 30 hours in the mountain range “was due to not having respected a protocol that exists for when there are adverse weather conditions,” and that that is why “what happened happened.”
