International solidarity with leader of the Energy and Petroleum Workers Association of Ecuador

privatization International solidarity with leader of the Energy and Petroleum Workers Association of Ecuador

Public Services International (PSI) in Inter-Americas and the Latin American Confederation of State Workers (CLATE), publicly support the struggle led by the union leader of the National Association of Energy and Petroleum Workers (ANTEP) David Almeida, on behalf of thousands of oil workers, against the privatization of this strategic and common good of Ecuador.

Comms

Almeida has publicly denounced several initiatives underway by the Government of Ecuador to:

  • Handing over the Sacha oil field, the most profitable in the country, to foreign private hands causing losses of US$500 million per year for the State.

  • The extension of the contract with the private company of the Heavy Crude Oil Pipeline, OCP for a period of one more year, which if not nationalized after 20 years of private profit, as is apparently the intention, would cause a loss of 2,500 million dollars in the next 20 years if it reverts to the State.

  • Reversion to private hands of Blocks 16 and 67 currently operated by Petroecuador, after having been recovered, which will generate additional income of US$ 379 million for the State until 2027.

  • The announcement of the handover to foreign hands of the Amistad Field (Offshore), a natural gas field crucial for electricity generation, since it supplies this hydrocarbon to the Termogas Machala plant.

In parallel, the government of Daniel Noboa has withdrawn resources from PETROECUADOR, weakening its operations in a clear pre-privatization strategy, despite the fact that it contributed more than 3.3 billion dollars to the national budget in 2023. With these policies, this and previous governments seek to discredit public services and stable companies in order to hand them over to private hands. Now, the government is trying to dismiss Almeida in an attempt to silence his voice, which is the voice of the Ecuadorian workers, accusing him of having revealed confidential information.

We declare our solidarity with comrade Almeida and state that "Freedom of opinion and expression constitutes one of the basic civil liberties, essential for the normal expression of trade union rights". His attack goes against international human rights conventions and treaties, among them ILO Conventions 87 and 98 as binding norms with which the Ecuadorian State maintains compliance responsibilities in article 417 of the Constitution.

We will remain vigilant to the development of the process and to the defense of common goods and essential public services such as the Ecuadorian people's oil.

Statement