Friday edition of the day on May 23 of 2008

Ciudad Bolivar, Bolivar State, Venezuela

They call for the nationalization of the mining company
Workers closed the Hecla Core 10

William Perez .- El Callao .- Workers of transnational mining Hecla located in the El Callao, yesterday paralysed road traffic circulating in the Core 10, as a protest with multiple problems faced within the company.
One hundred workers were bet from 5 o'clock in the morning yesterday in the Core 10, at the height of the entrance to El Callao, to prevent the movement of vehicles travelling in both directions of this important road artery linking the southern Venezuela to northern Brazil.
The demonstrators demanded the immediate presence of the Ministers of Basic Industries and Mining, Rodolfo Saenz and Labour, Roberto Hernandez, also called intermediation in the conflict by Luis Herrera, president of the state mining CVG - Minerva, to get up close the problems existing within the company Hecla.
The presence of senior government officials in the conflict zone was of paramount importance, since it would be the only condition imposed by the demonstrators to lift the protest. Workers at Hecla had the sole purpose of talking to ministers on the above abuses and indignities suffered daily by owners and supervisors of such transnational.
The leader of the mining company Hecla Hedreman Lopez, explained that took the decision to close in a peaceful manner the Core 10, to publicly denounce the continuing violation of human rights being done by the representatives of this company gold. "We demand the nationalization of the operator of gold."
Lopez assured that the wages earned by workers are very low. "The company takes tons and tons of gold and pay us 390 bolivars strong fifteen and the last, to this end workers have to endure humiliation and abuse by employers".
Moreover, he said that there are high levels of insecurity in mine operating company Hecla. This is evidenced by numerous cases of industrial accidents raised within that transnational gold. "Just last week, he dropped the roof of the mine workers, where one of them suffered broken leg in four parts."
In this regard, the mining Argenis Medina Hecla said that the company is exploiting their workers. Recently they were told that Hecla was to merge with the group Agapov, but until now it did not happen. Every day is more difficult working conditions, due to abuse and humiliation of the owners and managers of this company.
According to Medina, Hecla workers want the Government National nacionalice this company. "We want President Chavez to come to verify the subhuman conditions and the continuing human rights violations that we have to endure, to implement the same measures applied in Sidor."

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