Steel Worker’s Strike Shuts down Venezuela’s Largest Steel Plant

[Joanne98]

Caracas, January 1, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com) - More than 14,000 workers at Venezuela's largest steel plant, the Argentine-controlled Ternium Sidor, look set to extend a 48 hour strike Friday night, after negotiations for a collective contract, which has dragged on for almost a year, broke down.

The President of the United Steel Industry Workers Union (SUTISS), José Rodriguez, blamed what he called the intransigence of the company. The intention of the union is to achieve an agreement that is "serious, decent, and respectable," Rodriguez said. However, "Despite the intermediation by the Labor Ministry, the company has maintained a stubborn position," he added.

While the workers lowered their initial demand for a daily salary increase from Bs.F. 80 Bs.F. to 70 (US$32.56) during negotiations on Wednesday, Sidor management said the workers' demand was "totally inviable" and offered an increase of only Bs.F. 22. The union is also demanding a retroactive payment of Bs.F. 50,000 for each worker, for retirement funds, which it says had been agreed to in 1998, but that the company never paid.

The Vice Minister of Labor, Rafael Chacón, who has been mediating the dispute since early January, proposed a daily salary increase of 45 bolivars and a retroactive payment of Bs.F. 20,000, which the company said it would review. However, after 9 hours of discussions, Sidor management suspended negotiations without any concrete agreement being reached.

Nerio Fuentes, General Secretary of SUTISS, who pulled thousands of workers off the job in a 24 hour work stoppage last week over the same dispute, said they will extend the strike indefinitely if the company fails to meet their demands.
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3120

[Mika]

1. Another snip worth noting.

Located in the state of Bolivar in the south of Venezuela, Sidor was privatized in 1997. Argentina's Trechint now owns a 60% controlling stake, 20% belongs to workers and retirees, and the remaining 20% is owned by the Venezuelan state.

Since privatization the company has reduced its number of permanent employees from 18,000 to 5,400 and increased outsourced labour from 3,000 to 9,000. The union says working conditions have decreased dramatically and 18 workers have been killed in workplace related accidents over this period. They also said the outsourced workers, who earn significantly lower salaries than the permanent workers, suffer inferior working conditions and are victims of 65% of workplace accidents. The company "has applied a policy of savage neoliberal capitalism for more than 10 years," Rodriguez said.