US embassy cable - 04CARACAS1139

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 001139 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS USAID FOR DCHA/OTI 
DOL FOR ILAB 
GENEVA FOR LABATT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2014 
TAGS: PREL, ELAB, PGOV, VE 
SUBJECT: CHAVEZ TO ILO:  FRY MONKEYS! 
 
REF: A. 03 CARACAS 3725 
 
     B. 03 CARACAS 3200 
 
Classified By: Abelardo A. Arias, Political Counselor, 
for Reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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1. (C) A preliminary report by the International Labor 
Organization's (ILO) Committee on Freedom of Association 
determined that Venezuela's December 2002 - February 2003 
work stoppage was tantamount to a general strike.  The 
Committee deplored the mass dismissal of more than 18,000 
PDVSA workers without due process and encouraged the GOV to 
negotiate a solution with the oil workers' union.  President 
Hugo Chavez scorned the ILO report and swore the oil workers, 
"guilty of terrorism and sabotage," would never be rehired. 
Separately, Ministry of Labor officials noted that the report 
is preliminary and sides at times with the GOV position. 
Anti-Chavez unions hailed the report as a victory.  We do not 
expect the GOV to heed the ILO recommendations, yet another 
repudiation from the international community of Chavez's 
administration.  End summary. 
 
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ILO Body Chides GOV 
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2. (U) The International Labor Organization's (ILO) Committee 
on Freedom of Association (CFA) released a report in late 
March cataloging the status of a host of complaints against 
the GOV lodged by labor groups.  The CFA report treats 
in-depth the complaints brought by ex-PDVSA workers over the 
GOV's dismissal of more than 18,000 oil workers after the 
December 2002 - February 2003 strike.  UNAPETROL, a union 
formed in 2003 by PDVSA managers and workers, and FEDEUNEP, 
the public sector workers union aligned with the anti-Chavez 
Confederation of Workers of Venezuela (CTV) took the 
complaints to the ILO.  In addition to the complaints about 
the mass dismissals, UNAPETROL complained about the Ministry 
of Labor's rejection of UNAPETROL's registration as a union, 
the forced evictions of fired workers from PDVSA housing, and 
denial of education in schools belonging to the state oil 
company, PDVSA, to the children of these workers (ref a). 
 
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Mass PDVSA Firings An "Abuse" 
----------------------------- 
 
3. (U) The CFA deplored the GOV's "hasty and 
disproportionate" nature of the mass dismissals that are 
"tantamount to abuses and destroy labor regulations."  The 
work stoppage was similar to, in the view of the Committee, a 
generalized strike.  The GOV argued in its response that the 
national work stoppage, led in part by senior and middle 
class PDVSA managers, had as its goal the overthrow of 
President Chavez and was not, therefore, a labor action.  The 
workers left their positions for more than 60 days, the GOV 
argued, which legally permitted PDVSA to fire them without 
Ministry of Labor approval.  The GOV also admitted that 
faulty computer systems at the time caused them to fire 1,032 
employees who were on sick or maternity leave, an error that, 
the GOV claims, was subsequently rectified.  The CFA 
concluded that the dismissal of more than 18,000 workers 
suggests the strike cannot be attributed solely to senior and 
middle managers.  The CFA recommended that the Governing Body 
of the ILO request the GOV to engage in negotiations with the 
most representative trade union to find a solution to the 
mass firings (Note:  The report does not order the GOV to 
rehire the workers, as some media reports suggested).  Though 
recommending the GOV consult with workers over denial of 
benefits such as education and housing, the CFA accepted the 
GOV's arguments that it had given ample time for the workers 
to make other arrangements. 
 
4. (U) The Ministry of Labor denied UNAPETROL's application 
 
for recognition as a union on the grounds that the proposed 
union was to be composed of both managers and employees (ref 
b), violating the "purity principle" of union formation.  The 
CFA accepted this argument, but criticized the GOV for 
unnecessary administrative delays in processing the 
application, and encouraged the GOV to work directly with 
UNAPETROL to find a feasible solution to this objection. 
 
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Chavez Responds ILO 
------------------- 
 
5. (U)  In his weekly television program on March 28, Chavez 
responded to the ILO, calling the organization an accomplice 
in an international campaign to discredit his government.  He 
told the ILO that the fired oil workers are "coup-plotters, 
terrorists, and saboteurs" who would never return to their 
jobs.  He told the ILO to "fry monkeys" (best translated as 
"take a hike").  He attacked the ILO as "hypocritical 
Pharisees" for recognizing the stridently anti-Chavez CTV as 
representatives of Venezuela's labor movement.  He called the 
national work stoppage "sabotage," not a general strike as 
the CFA concluded. 
 
6. (U) Ministry of Labor officials minimized the importance 
of the report, claiming that it contains only preliminary 
recommendations.   Vice Minister of Labor Ricardo Dorado told 
reporters that, despite Chavez's comments, Venezuela has no 
intention of withdrawing from the ILO.  A pro-GOV group of 
petroleum workers spoke from the presidential palace on March 
30 denouncing the fired workers who "abandoned their posts" 
in an attempt to topple the Chavez government.  The 
spokesperson for the group said if the ILO's Committee for 
Freedom of Association does not respect the will of 
Venezuela's workers, then the worker class does not have the 
duty to respect the ILO's resolutions. 
 
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Labor Celebrates 
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7. (U) UNAPETROL President Horacio Medina told reporters 
March 29 the ILO's report is an important first victory for 
the fired petroleum employees.  The report, he asserted, 
lends credibility to his organization's claims of GOV 
violations of labor rights.  He added he had already sent a 
letter to Minister of Labor Maria Cristina Iglesias to 
request a meeting on the points raised by the CFA.  Medina 
said he doubted the Minister would grant the meeting, however. 
 
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Nest Steps at ILO 
----------------- 
 
8. (SBU) We understand that CFA recommendations are discussed 
but seldom altered by the Governing Body.  The CFA will meet 
again May 27-28 to produce another report, probably including 
recommendations on the charges against CTV President Carlos 
Ortega, currently in exile in Costa Rica.  The Governing Body 
will meet June 1-17, during which time it will approve the 
CFA report.  The March 2004 report references a total of 12 
complaints, but the GOV either did not respond or did not 
send comments until the day before the CFA convened.  (Note: 
The full report may be accessed at 
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/ standards/relm/gb/docs/ 
gb289/pdf/lils-3/pdf.) 
 
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Comment 
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9. (C) The fired oil workers' alleged treason against 
Chavez's revolution is orthodoxy in the Bolivarian catechism; 
the GOV will not change its position based on an ILO report. 
Still, a rebuke from international organized labor tarnishes 
the GOV's desired image as a champion of the poor.  We expect 
the GOV to start damage control activities now against the 
possible results of the ILO's June meeting.  The report, 
 
which has boosted the morale of Venezuelan organized labor, 
is also another log on the fire of international opinion 
against the Chavez government.  Yet no matter how hard the 
ILO hits the GOV in a report, the moribund CTV seems 
incapable at this time of mobilizing workers.  It has 
glaringly, for example, failed to use classic labor actions 
such as stoppages, walkouts, or slowdowns to protest the 
current dismissals and intimidation of public sector workers 
who signed the petition for a referendum to recall President 
Chavez. 
SHAPIRO 
 
 
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      2004CARACA01139 - CONFIDENTIAL