Venezuela: Seized Factory Was Well Stocked but Wasn't Producing
 Print This
By Staff Writers, teleSUR
teleSUR
Saturday, Jul 16, 2016
 |
| A man walks outside a Kimberly-Clark building in Maracay, Venezuela, July 10, 2016. | Photo: Reuters |
Warehouses belonging to Kimberly Clark Corporation — which recently had its factory seized and handed over to the workers — were found to be full of raw materials, despite the insistence from the factory's owners that they could not produce goods, Venezuelan Industry Minister Miguel Perez Abad confirmed Friday. The Kimberly Clark Corporation halted
operations alleging that they lacked the raw materials to make their
products but their warehouses were found to be full.
The Kimberly Clark Corporation is a producer of numerous personal, feminine, and baby care brands including Huggies, Kotex. These products have been in short-supply throughout the country, causing grief for many Venezuelans.
President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly accused managers and owners of certain private companies of engaging in an “economic war” against his government by deliberately limiting the availability of basic goods, including personal hygiene products.
The factory halted operations earlier this month and fired more than 900 workers, with the company alleging that they lacked the raw materials to make their products.
In response, the Venezuelan government seized the factory and handed it over to the workers, at their request.
“Kimberly-Clark will continue producing for all Venezuelans and is now in the hands of the workers,” said Labor Minister Oswaldo Vera.
President Maduro had warned in May that shuttered businesses and factories would be given to the workers so production could be restarted.
Minister Miguel Perez Abad added that the factory had enough raw materials to last until the end of the calendar year.
The Venezuelan government also recently launched a new program aimed at tackling shortages of food and medical supplies in the South American country.
Titled the Great Sovereign and Safe Supply Mission, the project will focus on the food, pharmaceutical, and industrial sectors in Venezuela, under the oversight of the president and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino.
The program will aim to develop more efficient local production as well as a new system to effectively distribute basic products to tackle some of the root problems of the crisis, which the government has repeatedly linked to the largely private control over supply chain from production to distribution.
Source URL
|
 Print This
|
