Government and Labor Square Off in Venezuela

 
As reported earlier on AmericasNet, the Venezuela Petroleum Workers Federation (FEDEPETROL) threatened to march on the fall 2000 OPEC Summit in Caracas unless the government negotiated its contract, which ended in November 1999. The Chávez administration seemed to be moving toward an agreement to avoid an embarrassing situation with its OPEC partners. However, what appeared to be a significant victory for the union soon turned sour. The government claimed that there was miscommunication between the negotiators and that what was understood as increased wages was really the company's calculation of the total package. The workers cried foul and on October 11 went on strike to demand an immediate daily wage increase of 6,000 bolívares.

The drama intensified as the government attempted to make an end run around traditional union organizations and negotiate directly with the workers through delegates. However, 18 of the delegates came out in favor of the strike and severely criticized the government for retreating from its original offer. Still, Chávez was not deterred and on October 14 demanded to deal personally with the workers to settle the dispute. He warned them not to send him any lackeys of the AD and COPEI parties, the traditional leadership of the Venezuelan unions.

On the evening of October 14, with gas stations beginning to close around the country, Venezuelan Vice President Isaias Rodríguez called a news conference. There, flanked by the union leaders that Chávez had vilified the day before, he announced an agreement. The new contract contemplates the 6,000 bolívar increase, although 1,000 of this sum will be paid next year.

As if to underscore his hardline position concerning the striking workers, Chávez immediately replaced the civilian president of the state-owned petroleum company (one of the 100 largest corporations in the world) with Brigadier General Guaicaipuro Lameda Montero. FEDEPETROL's president, Pedro Ortega, expressed his agreement with the removal of the previous president, but new uncertainties are hanging over the workers. Along with the new military presence in Petróleos de Venezuela, Chávez announced a drastic top-to-bottom restructuring of the company. In the same radio address, he attacked the traditional union leadership of the petroleum workers and the unions in general.

The destruction of the current labor movement, which had historically supported the traditional democratic parties since its participation in the overthrow of the Pérez Jiménez dictatorship in the 1950s, has been a goal of the Chávez government. Thus, there is more to the change in management at Petróleos de Venezuela than meets the eye. Chávez has politicized the fight with the petroleum workers as part of his efforts to destroy unions that don't support the government. With Venezuela the largest producer of gasoline for the US market, this campaign could affect one of the vital supply lines fueling the US economic boom.

On more than one occasion the International Labor Organization (ILO) has warned that the government's efforts to control the reform of the labor movement run contrary to international standards of freedom of association. However, almost simultaneous with the attempt to bypass the petroleum workers' unions, the Venezuelan Congress passed legislation providing for a national referendum to reform and unify the trade union structure during the December 2000 municipal elections. This measure will create an official "Constituent Workers' Assembly" at the expense of the current recognized and democratically elected organizations. In his weekly Sunday radio broadcast on October 15, Chávez called on workers to participate in the referendum. The vote itself violates international labor standards in that it allows the general population, and not union members, decide the fate of their organizations.

The traditional labor movement has been emboldened by the success of the petroleum workers. Many other government and state business employees have been involved in recent labor conflicts, and the National Workers Confederation (CTV) is considering a national strike as a show of force. With the petroleum crisis averted, it remains to be seen if the other union federations have the strength and motivation to carry off the job action.