Pan American Energy oil company terminated the contracts of Skanska and Contreras Hermanos, which exploits “Cerro Dragón” oilfield in Chubut province and whose almost 1,000 workers who have been carrying out a picket for the last 13 days.
The measure was not announced officially, but sources confirmed the termination of the contract took place on Tuesday.
Regarding the possibility of being accused of violating the mandatory conciliation issued by Governor Martin Buzzi, PAE will argue by saying that Skanska and Contreras Hermanos did not fulfill their contracts by not safeguarding goods which were destroyed in the PAE oilfield.
The formal termination of the contract would take place on grounds of breech of contract regarding the responsibility of the companies in light of recent incidents that have become public. These incidents keep on taking place with route blockades that prevent the normal entrance to the oilfield.
Earlier today, workers of Pan American Energy company were analyzingwhether to continue with the roadblocks around the “Cerro Dragón”oilfield near Comodoro Rivadavia or lift it after Chubut’s Governor Martín Buzzi yesterday ordered the clearing of roadblocks and sent 150 policemen to the area.
Likewise, Buzzi had requested a compulsory conciliation in the oilfield strike as workers were blocking the national route 3 and the provincial route 26 to impede the access of any vehicle heading to oilfields.
The Chubut government announced through its Media Secretariat yesterday that “the authorities ordered the clearing of the access roads” in a decision taken by “Judge Eva Parcio, after meeting with (province prosecutor) Blas Meza Evans and Miguel Montoya, the government’s Legal and Technical Secretary.”
Workers’ spokesman Guido Dickanson told reporters that “If they want us to lift the road-block, they should firstly meet our salary demands as well to rehire all fired coworkers, and stop trating us like second class workers.”
buenosairesherald.com