Venezuelan Workers Demonstrate for Nationalisation of Idle Factory

[Venezuelanalysis.com's Steven Mather reports on the recent march by workers of the occupied factory Sanitarios Maracay to demand its nationalisation. Workers are demanding the nationalisation of the company, which produces ceramic bathroom products, after they occupied their workplace on November 14 and restarted production for the local community. --Ed]

      

Venezuelan Workers Demonstrate for Nationalization of Idle Factory

By Steven Mather - Venezuelanalysis.com

December 22, 2006

Caracas, December 21, 2006 (www.venezuelanalysis.com)— Workers of the occupied factory Sanitarios Maracay marched to Miraflores Palace on last week to demand its nationalization.

Organizers said around 1,000 people marched who were mainly Sanitarios workers and their families.

Workers are demanding the nationalization of the company, which produces ceramic bathroom products, after they occupied their workplace on November 14 and restarted production for the local community.  The previous owner had closed the factory after several years of unending conflict with the workers.

Alvaro Pocaterra and his family who are Venezuelan have owned the factory for 47 years.  According to the workers the owner has consistently tried to avoid paying bonuses and other payments.  Also, during the boss's lockout of the oil industry in 2002, Sanitarios was also closed for two months, in an attempt to bring down the government.

The march started at the state prosecutor's office in Carabobo Park and from there it made its way to the National Assembly (AN).  There the workers demanded a meeting with the commission of deputies responsible for the industrial relations.

The workers claimed there was good reason for this.  The day before Marcela Máspero, a leader of the National Union of Workers (UNT) had met with 20 administrative employees of Sanitarios who supported the former factory owner Alvaro Pocaterra against the workers' occupation of the factory.  They had set up an alternative union that opposed the overwhelming majority of the workforce.

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