The Venezuelan government appointed new management and renewed investment in the state-owned conglomerate Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) and its subsidiaries, in efforts to raise production in Venezuela's industrial sector.
Organised workers at Venezuela's state-owned steel plant Sidor have spoken out against the Venezuelan government’s decision to dismiss the factory's president Carlos D’Oliveira earlier this month.
By Ewan Robertson - Venezuelanalysis.com, Dec 19th 2011
A further 1,723 subcontracted workers are to be incorporated onto the state payroll in Venezuela´s nationalised steel plant Sidor, Venezuelan Vice-president Elias Jaua announced on Friday. He further confirmed that two other companies, Grafitos del Orinoco and Sidetur, will be nationalised by the end of the year.
SIDOR workers, independently of which revolutionary candidates they prefer, are clearly revolutionary and opposed to any opposition current. Furthermore, the recent union vote shows a huge level of support for the nationalisation of the plant, which has been under state control since the heroic struggle in 2008.
By Jorge Martín - In Defence of Marxism, Jul 10th 2011
In the first of a series of articles, José Martín discusses and analyses the challenges facing the worker's control movement in the state of Bolivar. Having attended the national "Class Struggle" conference, Martín percieves an increasing polarisation between left and right, but most importantly "an open clash" between the revolutionary wing of the Bolivarian movement and reformists and bureaucrats.
Over the weekend, mora than 900 workers’ council delegates from across Venezuela met at the SIDOR steel plant in Puerto Ordaz in order to advance the organisation of Socialist Workers’ Councils and analyse progress, strengths and weaknesses of worker control in Venezuela.
On Thursday, the Venezuelan Supreme Court over-ruled a decision by a lower court to jail union leader Rubén González for seven years and six months for his role in a 2009 iron miners strike.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced on Sunday the expropriation of Siderúrgica del Turbio (Sidetur), a major producer of steel used in the construction of homes, bridges, and other infrastructure and public works. The president also announced government interventions in several large housing developments.
Venezuela’s principal union federation, the National Union of Workers (UNETE), recently circulated a document calling for broader nationalizations, a revolutionary labor law, and a radical shift toward a democratic, worker-led management model to stave off state bureaucracy.
