with your own Hugo Moiano On the front line, the national leadership of the Truckers’ Union declared a state of alert and mobilization on Tuesday and threatened to paralyze fuel distribution and Vaca Muerta production given the decision of the YPF leaders to put up for sale 55 mature and unprofitable conventional fields, which for the union would represent the layoffs of around 2,000 truck drivers.
Given the warning issued by the union leader, the state oil company, led by Horacio Marín, explained that the company’s determination to get rid of those low-production areas to concentrate its investments in the Vaca Muerta complex The deal was agreed with all oil unions that they have union representation of YPF staff and that the agreement means that “There will not be a single dismissal telegram” regarding these personnel..
Furthermore, sources from the oil company indicated that the drivers represented by Moyano are not YPF personnel and that they are employees of logistics companies that provide their services to the company, so they attributed the unionist’s threat to “political positioning .”
“Moyano was excluded from the negotiations and is pushing for a seat at that table. But there is no topic to talk about with him”, the state oil company insisted and rejected the truck drivers’ leader’s complaint for an alleged”“secret privatization” of the company behind the decision to sell the low-profitability areas. Official sources also link the trade unionist’s threat to the delays of the Ministry of Labor in approving the 45% wage increase agreed by the Camioneros with the freight transport companies for the months of March and April.
The leadership of the YPF in the hands of Marín, former director of the Techint group who joined Javier Milei’s government in December, had announced in February that he would put the sale of 55 mature, low-profit conventional fields to focus its investments in Vaca Muerta. These fields are mainly located in the provinces of Chubut, Santa Cruz and Mendoza and could be purchased by smaller oil companies or returned to the provinces for re-tendering.
The divestment plan, according to the company, will begin in April and is being discussed between the YPF board of directors, governors and unions, with quite a bit of friction. However, the company assures that the project has the consent of the oil unions, with a commitment not to fire sector operators.
Moyano’s concern is instead linked to the future employment of approximately 2,000 drivers who carry out logistics and production transport tasks of the deposits that YPF is trying to get rid of.
The truck driver warned the oil company of this situation through a letter in which he expresses his “most energetic rejection” for what he considers to be an “ongoing maneuver starting from April, which will leave 2,000 truck drivers out of work in the provinces of Chubut , Santa Cruz, Mendoza, Neuquén, Tierra del Fuego, Salta, La Pampa, Formosa and Río Negro”.
In this sense, Moyano warned about the company’s proposal to order “the suspension of workers for a period of four months, paying only part of their salaries” and assured that this measure “seems to be a ploy to eliminate these positions”. work under the excuse of selling these areas to other oil exploitation companies”, and denounced: “This action demonstrates a clear maneuver aimed at going beyond the law and gradually privatize the companythrough the sale of these oil areas that are still able to continue to be exploited.”
After having made official the decision of the National Federation of Truck Drivers to declare itself in a state of alert and mobilization in the context of the conflict, the trade unionist threatened to launch a profound plan of struggle in the oil sector, paralyzing the YPF distilleries and the production of the Vaca Muerta fields if the company does not reverse its decision to put the 55 announced mature conventional fields up for sale.
Source: Clarin
