Metalworkers in southern Tamaulipas are eagerly awaiting the oil boom announced by the federal government for the state, which would allow them to return to work at the platform terminals and participate in complementary projects. They point out that the two projects currently underway in the ports of Altamira and Tampico are insufficient to meet the demand for jobs in the industry.
With the status of a second gas liquefaction plant in Altamira still pending, along with the possibility of renewed activity at the Bosnor company’s shipyards, half of the 6,000 members of the Metalworking Industry Union, affiliated with the CTM (Confederation of Mexican Workers), are currently working in the Monterrey metropolitan area and the southeast of the country, stated their leader, Adrián Rangel Pineda.
He mentioned as positive the hiring by McDermott for a marine structure to be shipped to Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the operations at Eseasa for Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex). However, he noted that the number of workers was limited despite the large pool of available labor waiting to be hired.
“That’s why we hope these announced projects for Tamaulipas materialize, and it will be a great help. The outlook is still bleak for the local platform industry. Many workers were unable to find jobs with either McDermott or Eseasa, forcing them to migrate to other states,” he pointed out.
According to the data, a total of 1,500 workers were hired in various trades to meet the needs of the Anglo-Dutch company Shell and Pemex, corporations that require these facilities.
These opportunities arose from several public projects in Tabasco, Campeche, and Nuevo León, in addition to other jobs in the private sector. Rangel Pineda emphasized that the southern region of Tamaulipas suffers a similar situation to that seen in the southeast, dragged down by the public company’s debts to suppliers.
“The same thing is happening in Tampico, and the only thing that could bring us some activity is the construction of a second liquefaction plant (a plan announced some time ago by the American company New Fortress Energy), and there’s a lot of talk about the reactivation of Bosnor,” the labor leader stressed.
Source: milenio
