Oil refinery workers in Argentina launch indefinite strike after fire kills 3

Oil refinery workers in Argentina launch indefinite strike after fire kills 3

Country’s largest oil workers’ union decries ‘disregard for life and safety’ following incident

By Bala Chambers

LONDON (AA) - Workers belonging to Argentina’s largest oil union began an indefinite strike Thursday over a lack of safety measures at a refinery in Neuquen province, where a fire and explosion left three people dead.

The fire started at a storage tank around dawn at the New American Oil refinery in the town of Plaza Huincul in Neuquen, located around 1,300 kilometers (808 miles) to the west of the capital Buenos Aires, killing at least three workers.

Ninety firefighters tackling the blaze eventually managed to bring it under control, according to local news agency Telám.

Following the incident, Neuquen Undersecretary of Civil Defense and Citizen Protection Martin Giusti spoke at a press conference, saying he deplored the three deaths and confirmed that the prosecutor’s office is investigating the incident to determine its cause.

In the aftermath, the Union of Private Oil and Gas Workers in Rio Negro, Neuquen and La Pampa launched a strike.

In a statement, the union announced that because it was "fed up with the lack of commitment to (safeguarding) the lives of workers,” its board of directors “decided to launch a total strike of activities in the territorial scope of the organization."

The union added that it has called for a meeting with the owners Friday and insisted that "urgent measures must be taken to put an end to the permanent disregard for the lives of workers."

According to the union, from 2018 until June 2022, 11 people have lost their lives in the industry.

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