Labor Disputes in Venezuela Lead to Protests
Various labor disputes this week in Venezuela have led to protests by workers against employers and government entities.
Punto Fijo, November 14th, 2012 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – Various labor disputes this week in Venezuela have led to protests by workers against employers and government entities.
On Tuesday, contract laborers from the food processing giant Polar chained themselves to the front doors of the company in Caracas to demand the reactivation of their private contractor Tromson de Venezuela
Workers said that operations at the Pepsi affiliate had been suspended for several months due to a lack of raw materials, leaving more than 400 workers in a precarious situation and unsure if they would continue to receive pay.
Various labor disputes in the central state of Carabobo also led to worker protests on Tuesday as a delegation was sent to Caracas to demand answers from the Labor Ministry.
More than 300 workers from a private cookie producer have been on strike for more than sixty days in demand of a collective contract, but have yet to receive a response from the government on the matter. Workers accused local government officials of having taken the side of their employers in the dispute.
Also among the delegation were workers from the state-owned home manufacturer Petrocasa, who for several months have disputed arbitrary layoffs and a lack of wage raises at the firm. Workers said they have been shut out of the plant since June without justification.
Also among the delegation from Carabobo were workers from Goodyear, Barrio Adentro, Naturalyst, and Efco among others.
Members of the delegation reported that they had been well received on Tuesday by the National Inspector at the Labor Ministry, who assured there would be a response to all of the cases being presented.
