Thousands Protests Against Venezuelan Food Giant Polar for Low Wages, Political Hoarding
Published 2 July 2015, Source
Workers at Venezuelan food giant Polar say the company's wages have fallen far behind inflation. Thousands of employees of Venezuela's largest private food manufacturer took to the streets of Caracas Thursday to demand better wages and conditions.
In one of the largest demonstrations in years against the food giant Polar, employees dressed in the company uniform flooded the streets of Venezuela's capital. Thousands more Venezuelan workers joined the protest, which marched through central Caracas to the Labor Ministry.
In total, workers from more than 40 public and private companies have joined a solidarity group aimed at supporting workers in their negotiations with Polar. Similar protests are set to take place at Polar sites in five states. The massive nationwide protest is the latest strike against Polar, which is locked in a long-running dispute with its own work force over a new contract.
According to Braulio Alvarez, the vice president of the union CBST, the Venezuelan government should take urgent action to bring the labor dispute to a close. “We are demanding mediators ... so that the conflict can be overcome ... and the rule of law is respected,” he told public broadcaster VTV.
Since late 2013, unions have been urging Polar to increase wages, saying salaries are not keeping up with inflation. The dispute flared up late last year, when workers threatened nationwide strikes.
The company claims it has tried to negotiate with the union, but says worker demands are unreasonable. Polar is the country's largest private food producer.
It produces most of the country’s beer and dominates the domestic cornflour market – a staple in Venezuela, used to make arepas, a cheap corn alternative to bread. “Lorenzo: don't take away our arepas,” read placards carried by protesters in Caracas, referring to Polar's head Lorenzo Mendoza.
Mendoza has long been at odds with both unions and the government, as his company has been accused of intentionally reducing production of staples, like cornflour, for political reasons.
Workers say the company had almost halved production of pre-cooked cornflour, amid shortages of the product in some parts of the country.
