(For educational and research purposes only)

Wednesday March 1, 4:16 pm Eastern Time

Venezuela oil workers to go on strike Friday

CARACAS, March 1 (Reuters) - Venezuelan oil unions will launch Friday an indefinite nationwide strike on pay and working conditions in the world's third largest oil exporter, union officials said Wednesday.

The unions said they were calling the strike to protest state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA)'s refusal to resume talks on a collective labor contract.

``This indefinite strike will start this Friday at 5 o'clock in the morning (0900 GMT),'' Carlos Ortega, head of Venezuela's largest oil union Fedepetrol, told journalists.

The unions represent the majority of around 40,000 workers employed in Venezuela's oil sector.

A government-controlled Constitutional Assembly decreed in January that talks on a new collective contract be suspended until the opposition-run unions hold democratic elections.

-- Spoonfed (Spoonfed@spoonfeddd.xcom), March 01, 2000

Answers

Anyone care to guess what crude oil futures will do by Friday?

-- David Whitelaw (Dande53484@aol.com), March 01, 2000.

Just when you thought things couldn't get worse.

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), March 01, 2000.

They were suposed to strike eight times last year. And only did for two 24 hour periods. Not effecting exports. Oil futures not responding to this news. Yet.

-- ROB MERDOCH (MRLOVE99@HOTMAIL.COM), March 01, 2000.

OK....I'll go out on a limb and say that Clinton and Sec. Richardson will once again publicly toy with the idea of using the SPRs (Clinton saying that he has not ruled out using it and Richardson saying that he doesn't want to do anything to influence the markets).

Or should I say it's a safe bet that this will happen...............

Exit 316

-- Exit 316 (exit316@kc-primary.net), March 01, 2000.