Venezuelan National Workers Union Calls for Greater Worker Control

[Judi Lynn]

Venezuelan National Workers Union Calls for Greater Worker Control
By James Suggett
Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Mérida, July 19th 2010 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuela’s principal union federation, the National Union of Workers (UNETE), recently circulated a document calling for broader nationalizations, a revolutionary labor law, and a radical shift toward a democratic, worker-led management model to stave off state bureaucracy.

The statement was released earlier this month and coincided with a series of worker assemblies and worker education programs initiated by unions in state-owned and private companies, indicating that the movement for worker control – and the clash between the bureaucracy and the rank-and-file in the Bolivarian Revolution – is alive and well.

The statement is directed at “the working people of Venezuela,” and aims to be “a draft in order to continue discussion” and “not a definitive document.” It includes a total of 21 policy proposals by UNETE and other worker, peasant, and indigenous organizations.

Chief among the proposals is the full nationalization of the banking and finance sectors and of all foreign commerce related to essential foods, the gradual reduction of the sales tax, and a national re-adjustment of wages and prices in accordance with real costs of living and production.

More:
http://www.zcommunications.org/venezuelan-national-workers-union-calls-for-greater-worker-control-by-james-suggett