Venezuelan oil workers call strike

Oil workers picketed fuel depots in last year's protest

Venezuela's largest union for oil workers has called a national 48-hour strike starting on Wednesday to protest against the national oil company's refusal to pay promised wage rises.

The union Fedepetrol has demanded a 15% pay raise promised to public sector employees last May by presidential decree.

The state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), claims the decree does not include oil workers.

It will be a 48-hour strike, but if there is no call to start talks we will obviously continue.

Felix Jimenez
Federation of Oil Workers

PDVSA has contingency plans to replace striking workers with non-unionised senior staff, which it claims will keep oil flowing for about 10 days before exports are threatened.

The union plans to take its 60,000 workers out on strike at 0600 local time (0500 EST, 1000 GMT).

"It will be a 48-hour strike, but if there is no call to start talks we will obviously continue," Felix Jimenez of the Federation of Venezuelan Oil Workers told a news conference.

Latest dispute

The strike by Venezuela's oil workers is just the latest in a series of threats during month-long talks with PDVSA.

Earlier this month, Fedepetrol managed to hold on to a $3,000 bonus for workers which PDVSA had wanted to take back.

Chavez has come to blows with unions before

Negotiations over the pay rise broke down last week when the PDVSA said it would take the matter to the supreme court.

Union leaders said they would cancel the strike if the company resumed talks and a deal was reached by Wednesday.

Strikes and threats of stoppages are a regular feature of pay negotiations and rarely impact the country's three million barrels of daily oil output.

Past disputes

Fedepetrol has already scored two major victories in the last six months in wage disputes with the government of President Hugo Chavez.

Workers paralysed the oil industry in October last year with a four-day strike to protest against failed collective bargaining talks, and won a 60% pay rise.

The company agreed to raise basic daily pay by $7.25 to about $14.

But as from last February, there should have been the further $1.45 hike for public sector workers.

This would then satisfy Fedepetrol's demand for a $9 a day rise.

Venezuela is the world's third largest oil exporter, and the number one exporter to the US.

It gains about a third of its GDP and three-quarters of its exports from oil.