Sidor workers are on strike for five days to demand better wages and better working conditions. The authorities promise the installation of a negotiating table in which 12 protesters will participate
In the early hours of this Friday, January 13, a commission appointed by the Bolívar Governor’s Office arrived at the protest held by dozens of Sidor workers on the Ciudad Guayana – Ciudad Bolívar highway, at gate IV of the factory.
As a member of the official commission, the official deputy of the National Assembly elected in 2020, Rory Quiaragua; the Secretary of Maintenance and General Services of the government, Pedro Perales; and the political leader José Gil.
The promise of the officials was the installation of a negotiating table in which 12 protesters, Sidor executives and the state governor, Ángel Marcano, will participate.
The workers told the whistle that his salary request is maintained and now the demand for the release of his colleagues is added. “We are going to meet, but stay alert, compañeros,” said worker Henry Quintana, who was one of those designated to negotiate with the government and Sidor, during an assembly.
Increase number of detainees
Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Human Rights Commission of the Bolívar Bar Association, Javier González, reported that the number of workers arrested had risen to 18. So far, only six have been brought before the courts.
“Some of the detainees have already had their time expired to present them in court and they have not been transferred, which represents a violation of due process and reveals that they are arbitrary detentions,” the lawyer said in a telephone interview with the whistle.
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It transpired that the leaders César Soto, of the Unidad en la Coincidencia labor movement, and José Basanta, a union member of CVG Bauxilum, have been subjected to intimidation and arrest attempts.
Meanwhile, the protesters continue with the road closed and with more than a dozen buses retained. They announced that they hope to know the results of the meeting with their colleagues to make a decision on the end of the strike that this Friday reached its fifth day.
Press blocked in Sidor
The National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) denounced in Twitter hours earlier than officials from various security forces in Bolívar state sought to prevent coverage of the protest starring Sidor workers.
He said that there are at least six checkpoints from the National Guard (GN), the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) and the Bolívar state police before arriving at the protest site, making it difficult for social communicators to reach the area. For this reason, they have been forced to take a “wooded trail” that can only be taken on foot.
The announcement by the Bolívar government that there will be no gasoline dispatch in the Caroní and Piar municipalities has a direct impact on prioritized sectors (such as the media). In this sense, the SNTP warned that it is a way of limiting the exercise of the right to information and freedom of expression; work that journalists seek to materialize.
#SNTPAlert | At least six alcabalas made up of members of the GNB, National Police and State Police #Bolivar prevent access to journalists covering the workers’ protest at gate IV of #Sidor. #13Jan (Photo @CarlosSuniagaG)?1/7 pic.twitter.com/N7D2QW3goC
– SNTP (@sntpvenezuela) January 13, 2023
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