Metals - Venezuela - FMO union leaders reiterate need for govt support

By Harvey Beltr?n?/?Business News Americas

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A group of union leaders from Venezuelan iron ore producer Ferrominera Orinoco (FMO) met with various government officials to reiterate the call for the government to provide support for the company.

"We are calling for the reactivation of the company's productive apparatus, but with support from the government to give us a boost and get the company back to its production levels," Sintraferrominera labor union secretary Alfredo Spooner told BNamericas.

Spooner participated in some meetings recently with science, technology and industry minister Ricardo Men?ndez, foreign affairs minister Nicol?s Maduro and the president of state heavy industry holding CVG, Rafael Gil Barrios, in which help for the basic materials industries was requested from the government.

One result of the meetings was the establishment of roundtables and on July 17, a meeting will be held with the ministers of each area to work through investment issues at the basic industries companies, Spooner said.

Given that the companies did not make layoffs during the sector crisis, as well as the fact that the companies are still productive enterprises where sales do not compensate for the production costs, they are asking that the government consider financing for these plants, he said.

"Looking at the cost of producing one ton of iron ore, for FMO, it is over US$80, while elsewhere in the world, it is below US$80. What's more, the FMO workers have better benefits than workers in other places. This situation has to be compensated for," he said.

FMO produced 4.2Mt in Q1, a 6% increase compared to the same period last year, when output totaled 4.03Mt.

FMO's production goal for 2012 is 20Mt, compared to the 17Mt produced in 2011.

FMO, headquartered in Puerto Ordaz, is a subsidiary of CVG. The company supplies ore to Venezuela's iron and steel processors, in addition to exporting products to Europe, Asia and Latin America.

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