Interview with Jose Villegas, organisation secretary for the trade union at Sanitarios Maracay

El Militante, the paper of the Revolutionary Marxist Current (CMR) in Venezuela, recently interviewed organisation secretary of the union at Sanitarios Maracay, Jose Villegas. Villegas explains the nature and history of the struggle at the factory, and discusses the plans of the workers to get the factory nationalised under workers’ control.

El Militante, the paper of the Revolutionary Marxist Current (CMR) in Venezuela, recently interviewed organisation secretary of the union at Sanitarios Maracay, Jose Villegas. Villegas explains the nature and history of the struggle at the factory, and discusses the plans of the workers to get the factory nationalised under workers’ control.

El Militante: Can you explain to us how the conflict started and how the workers have been organising themselves?

José Villegas: In 2003, after the bosses' lockout we decided to organise a workers' front to break with the yellow union structure that, until then, existed in the company. Through comrade Richard Gallardo, national co-ordinator of the UNT and regional co-ordinator of the union in Aragua, we started to meet the requirements needed to create a union structure that would actually respond to the interests of the workers. At that moment we were 30 workers and started to spread information amongst the rest of our workmates, explaining that it was necessary to form a union to defend ourselves against the abuses of the owner and the yellow union, etc.

The owner started to pay us only 3 days of wages, with the consent of the yellow union. It took almost 8 months for the Ministry of Labour to recognise the union and the boss laid us off for 5 months. Since that moment we started to demand a referendum for the workers to decide what union they supported. In this referendum the workers were threatened with being fired if they supported us. They were told that if they did not withdraw their signature for the recognition of the union they would not be paid their full wages and benefits. The owner would not even allow the referendum to take place within the factory premises. It had to be done at the gates. Even under this pressure the workers massively participated and expressed that they did not want the yellow union any more.

The fight continues. We built a strong information campaign for the workers in the canteen and with constant meetings, etc. Finally, there was a second referendum. This time the company allowed the referendum to be held on the factory premises and the yellow union left with a bloody nose: 460 votes against 112. The company lost the control of the workers through their yellow union. The consciousness of the workers started to grow and the new union (SINTRAEPISCEA) began to grow as well. As this new union would lead the collective bargaining negotiations for new conditions the practice of harassing the union leaders intensified too: against Humberto López, José Pérez, me, and other comrades. Stooges were hired, criminals were hired to throw us down the canteen stairs. Armed guards were hired to beat us up. It was a brutal attack on us. The yellow union claimed to still be in charge of the situation, that they had the majority... but in the end they could not manage, because with every attack and trap we informed and mobilised the workers. Throughout this struggle we strengthened ourselves.

When it was already very difficult for the owner to control the situation we were offered money. Conscious that they had lost the control over the workers they moved on to attack the factory itself seeking a technical stoppage. They try to reduce the positions at work and, that way, get rid of us. That is how, with the ink still wet on the collective contract of 2005, where we got very important concessions, they decided to break the contract on all its points. In December 2005 they struck their first blow by saying that there was not enough money to pay utilidades ("utilities" in Venezuela are benefits paid to the workers to help cover the cost of transport, etc. to and from work).

We were left with no food, and only a basic salary. There was a very strong clash between the union and the company. Finally, the owner had to pay the "utilities". In 2006 we started to raise the issue of work related illnesses and injuries with the collaboration of IMPSASEL. We have 170 workers with back injuries and other problems, such as with their lungs, etc. The company, far from taking it seriously, rejected the payment of any benefits and cancelled the funerary benefits - which had to be paid with our money - and stopped buying raw material.

In March 30, 2006, we demanded work uniforms, since we had not received any for two years. When we presented our demands we found that Rafael Sánchez, the production manager, had given instructions to all the technical, administrative and supervising staff to leave the factory and proposed to stop paying wages and to cancel the canteen service. This is how our via crucis started. The owner, Pocaterra, disappeared; all the supervisors were gone, as well as administrative staff and the secretaries. We discussed the situation in the workers' assembly. There were 400 tonnes of paste (used to produce baths), if that 400 tonnes solidified, the same as what happened at PDVSA during the bosses' lockout could have happened to us. If the workers had not cleaned the pipes they would have become blocked and became useless. Against this lockout we decided to start the engines and move the paste, because if the material solidifies it is like cement. It would block all the pipes through which it runs and then it would take ages to clean and repair the machinery. The mechanics and other specialised workers started to move more than 200 engines and, that way, we kept the factory occupied and, though not producing yet, it was ready for production.

We started to march to the Ministry of Labour, the Legislative Council of Aragua State, the Governor's Hall. We were attack from all sides. PDVSA Gas wanted to cut off the gas supply, Elecentro, the electricity, but with the pressure and mobilisation of the workers all these attacks were stopped. Even the sabotage of a water valve 60 meters underground was organised.

We spent two months at the negotiating table at the Ministry of Labour with a couple of graduates that did not do anything to get Pocaterra to these meetings. Every time we attended one of these meetings he sent a fax saying he could not come and, that way, we lost the journey. The then Minister of Labour, Ricardo Dorado, who was two offices away from where these negotiations were taking place, did not show up one single time even though we had issued several invitations. We brought the case to his knowledge because we could see that a new attack against us was being prepared. Finally, we got some sort of crappy agreements with the people that Pocaterra sent, in which not even the 42 days that the factory had been abandoned were recognised, but only 35 days to be paid - in several instalments. None of the points of agreement reached have been fulfilled by the owner. What was owed to us had to be paid by December 2006, and well, look at the situation we find ourselves in now.

El Militante: You have denounced the fact that the owner launched the fight in order to wear you out; that his goal was to ruin the business to finish with a union that had been able to win wages increases, new rights and stop the attacks of the owner. How did the occupation of the factory come about? And, this time, why did you decide to start producing, something which has happened for first time in this revolutionary process?

J.V.: After returning to work the owner came out with the story that an investor was going to come and that there was no money to pay benefits until this investor put up the money, but that was an excuse. In fact, there were only 50 workers in the plant and he gave paid leave to all the administrative staff. This situation lasted until November 14, when the owner gave us an ultimatum. He said that the "supposed" investor had decided not to invest because the union was too radical. We were expecting that. The owner even presented some unacceptable demands. For example he argued that collective bargaining should be substituted by individual contracts between each worker and himself, where all our acquired rights would disappear as well as, above all, our organisation as a collective.

When the owner said that the company was technically ruined we told him that if that was the situation and the law did nothing to defend our right to work, to live, to a decent future for us and our families, that we were going to take the factory. A discussion with the administrative staff was opened and we invited them to join us, since the owner himself had said that there was no money to pay either the shop workers or administrative staff. At the assembly the shop workers decided to take the factory and the union, with the support of comrades from the Revolutionary Marxist Current, the CMR, proposed the creation of a factory committee so that we would be able to co-ordinate the occupation and management of the company by ourselves, to begin production and selling our produce, so that way we could get food, medicines, etc. and be able to resist until our goal was met, which is the nationalisation of the company under workers' control. We even opened a space in the Factory Committee for the administrative staff. 5 seats out of 21 were reserved for them, but they decided not to join. With them a small group of scabs, who the owner wanted to use to divide the workers, withdrew from the fight too. They took the weakest elements, those with the lowest political consciousness. The majority of the workers decided, in a meeting of the assembly, to start producing.

At the beginning it was very hard, but the large majority stuck together, and we started producing and selling baths in the factory garage. We are resisting and the number of workers participating has even risen, while the group used by the owner to divide us has had its base eroded. Some workers were even told that the signatures taken to the Labour Inspection Bureau to register the yellow union, which was done in record time, by the public officer Karelys Caranche were to make Pocaterra pay them what was owed. This yellow union also received the support of Marcela Máspero (MP and UNT co-ordinator), which to us seems very grave, coming at the height of the conflict and in such a hard struggle as this one. To help to divide the struggle in the middle of the factory occupation seems criminal to us. But we keep resisting and advancing, keeping the factory working under workers' control, selling baths and demonstrating that the company can function under the control of the workers.

El Militante: Who is supporting you in your struggle?

J.V.: After a group of front men masquerading as investors visited the factory a new discussion with the national and regional UNT was opened. It was decided to organise a march to Caracas on December 14, which was an absolute success. Orlando Chirino, National co-ordinator of the UNT, supported the march. People from the Revolutionary Marxist Current and from the Hands off Venezuela Campaign helped us to break the media blockade. They produced a video which can be seen on the internet and spread the news about our struggle internationally.

This allows the conflict to have a big impact. The media blockade is broken. Once we started producing and selling not a word was said about our conflict in the media in the State of Aragua, the line, which is taken directly from the owners of the media (El Siglo, El Aragueño, El Carabobeño, TVS...) was no a photos, no news about Sanitarios Maracay. That blockade was broken by the Revolutionary Marxist Current (CMR), which through the Internet published an interview with the General Secretary of our union. We also thank the collaboration of Vive TV in making public this conflict.

This has helped us to reach out to more people, who are coming to the factory to show their support. Now we are gathering signatures of support for the nationalisation of Sanitarios Maracay under workers' control in the neighbourhoods of Maracay, on public transport in the different factories of Aragua... this week we were at Manpa Higiénicos, Vasos Dixie. The comrades from the unions at the different factories in Aragua are supporting us, many of them are going to donate one day of wages to support the struggle.

El Militante: What are the next steps in the struggle?

J.V.: This weekend we will be participating in a meeting of UNT leaders organised by the C-CURA, which is the militant current of the UNT. There were union representatives from all around the country and, apart from gathering signatures in support of our demands for nationalisation, they committed themselves from a class viewpoint, as it must be, to call for a march in Caracas; a march in support of the nationalisation of Sanitarios Maracay which would also demand the nationalisation of SIDOR and other companies. Orlando Chirino, Stalin Pérez and other comrades from the UNT committed themselves to bring as many workers and union leaders to this march as possible. Besides, we are thinking - with the UNT Aragua - about calling a regional stoppage in Aragua and maybe in Carabobo after this march.

All this support is essential to us if we want to achieve our objective, which is the nationalisation of the company under workers' control to guarantee baths and other products for the housing plans that the government is developing.

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