The workers of the Central Gas Distributor (Ecogas), and operators of outsourced companies, such as Coyserv and Omnitronia, have been in a permanent assembly, since May 28, and for an indefinite period to demand a salary adjustment. This Monday it will go from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The measure affects Ecogas’ operational centers, customer service in Córdoba capital, on Juan Avenue. B. Just at 4,301, technical street work, extraordinary work and overtime, the administrative part, control of regulatory chambers, among other activities.
There are 250 employees, grouped in the Gas Workers Association (Atgas), both in Córdoba, Catamarca and La Rioja, in addition to outsourced employees, who demand a salary adjustment according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). ), something that had been happening since 2018, but the company did not respect it.
Miguel Arroyo, Secretary General of Atgas, told The voice that “there is a total stoppage of activities. And the work of all areas is resentful.”
From Ecogas they stated The voice that they will not make statements because “they prefer to respect the framework of conversations” that are developed through salary negotiation.
The workers’ protest will have its impact on the delivery of home meters: there are 5,000 pending and another 1,200 will arrive this week, which will not be able to be installed.
“There will be no control and sealing of the meters. That is why there will be delays in the meters destined for connections to the system of new users in Córdoba. These tasks are carried out with overtime,” Arroyo noted.
It will also affect the suspension of trips to carry out the control of regulatory chambers. “The chambers go out of range, so they must be constantly controlled so that they are within the range and thus guarantee the pressure of the networks, downstream of the chambers, of trunk gas pipelines or intermediate networks. The worker has to go and regulate the cameras,” explained the Secretary General.
Salary conflict
The origin of the conflict began in early 2024 when Ecogas informed employees that if the Government did not allow an increase in household rates it would not increase salaries.
“In April, rates increased significantly, especially in the fixed charge which is more than 1,600%. At that moment Ecogas changed his speech and said that he did not have to follow the CPI anymore, with respect to salary adjustments,” Arroyo stated.
Although in April, through the Ministry of Labor, the workers obtained an increase of 11%, in May, they requested an increase of 8.8%, but the company offered 5%, and 3.8% for June, and does not recognize IPC. “That’s why it was rejected,” the union member remarked.
Starting on Friday, they entered “a period of daily meetings” until they reached an agreement.
“The 8.8% increase on the total mass of workers means 29 million pesos and the company is offering 25 million. Those 4 million pesos difference are equivalent to 0.001% of the increases in Ecogas’s effective silver income. After the rate, it has a fixed charge that is between 4,500 and more than 5,000 million pesos per month, a fixed charge that is beginning to be billed and collected,” Arroyo noted.
And he added that Ecogas’ decision is more like “a business whim than a lack of resources to keep its workers in line with the CPI, as has happened since 2018. We are not asking for anything other than that.”
Finally, he stated that the union notified the Ministry of Labor about the forceful measure and assured that Ecogas threatened through a note to discount the hours of the assemblies. “Because for them they are covert strikes and not an assembly for demands,” he complained.
