According to a publication by the Colombian broadcaster Blu radiothe workers of the Santander Electrification Plant (ESSA)Subsidiary of EPM Groupthey started a permanent meeting after several weeks of discussions without agreement with the company management.
The measure was taken by unions in response to what they saw as a lack of progress in collective bargaining and ongoing labor outsourcing programs affecting a significant proportion of the workforce.
According to the employee representatives, there are approx 3,500 employees They are indirectly connected to the power company, although they carry out tasks that are considered missionary.
You can now continue following us Facebook and in ours WhatsApp channel
According to unions, this scenario has led to lawsuits direct settingJob stability and compliance Collective agreementAspects that form a central part of the list of requests addressed to the company.
The situation was publicly exposed by BLU radioa medium to which union spokespeople said that the formal negotiation process did not allow for in-depth discussion of the proposals put forward. In this regard, they explained that the decision to convene a permanent meeting is aimed at maintaining internal mobilization while the discussions provided for by the current labor regulations take place.
Carlos Roncancio, legal advisor for workers in the electricity sector, referred to the current status of the negotiations and explained that the process is at an advanced stage without concrete results. “The EPM subsidiary is in collective bargaining. That’s what they’re doing.” 10 sessions and we go to the number 8. At these meetings, the company abstained from negotiating the proposals contained in the list of demands, which constitutes a hidden refusal to negotiate,” he explained.
According to Roncancio, the lack of discussion on the key points of the document has caused concern among workers, who believe that the negotiations have not fulfilled the purpose of developing agreements. In this scenario, the Permanent Assembly was introduced as a statutory mechanism to express disagreements and exert pressure for the effective development of the working dialogue.
One of the issues most frequently raised by unions is the use of contracting companies to carry out activities that they consider to be directly related to the electrification company. “The company excessively uses contracting companies to carry out electrification company activities. These people should be hired directly by the company on permanent contracts,” Roncancio said in his statements.
The legal advisor also pointed out that this mediation model has a direct impact on the collective agreement and working conditions. As explained, outsourcing impacts the salary, stability and access to traditional benefits of hundreds of workers who, despite performing permanent roles, do not have the same rights as directly affiliated employees.
The trade union organization has insisted that the direct setting It responds not only to the demand for workers, but also to the need to ensure homogeneous conditions within the company. The workers argue that compliance with the collective agreement is a fundamental element for the operation of the energy service in Santander and for the legal certainty of those who make up the workforce.
Meanwhile, ESSA continues to provide energy services to the department during this negotiation process. The unions have indicated that the permanent meeting does not mean a cessation of activities for the time being, but warned against it hit This is an option provided for under the legal mechanisms if there is no significant progress in the dialogue tables.
The collective bargaining process is still ongoing and no partial or overall agreements have been announced yet. The employee representatives reiterated their willingness to resume the dialogue and advance the discussion of the points in the document, provided that there is a real willingness on the part of the company to negotiate.
Finally, Roncancio called on the parties to resume discussions with greater openness and institutional commitment, in a context where workers maintain the permanent assembly as a legitimate means of pressure within the Colombian labor law framework and await definitions of their contractual and conventional future.
About The Author
