Colombia's Ecopetrol signs final agreement with the main union

Ecopetrol, Colombia's state run oil company, has announced that it has signed a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with its main workers union (USO).

The agreement reached with the union of oil workers will last six years, starting January 1, 2026.

Ecopetrol has also signed 66 agreements with other labor unions. These include improved working conditions, enhanced benefits in health and education, and diversity and inclusion initiatives. The company did not provide any further information.

Ecopetrol will?file and fomalize its agreement with the Ministry of Labor in the coming days. After that, it plans to hold a joint session with the union to clarify the terms. * USO went on a 24-hour walkout in June to protest what they called the deadlock in negotiations regarding a new collective agreement.

Sources within the company claim that the union had asked for a pay increase equal to inflation plus 20% in the first-year, and then inflation plus 10% each year over the next four.

Ecopetrol is one of Latin America's biggest energy producers, and Colombia's largest corporation. It's responsible for 60% of Colombia's hydrocarbons production.

(source: Reuters)