Venezuela fires hundreds more workers from state oil monopoly

<a href=www.sfgate.com>SFGate.com Thursday, April 3, 2003
(04-03) 19:44 PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) --

The government fired 828 more employees from the state oil monopoly for participating in a two-month strike to oust President Hugo Chavez, the company said Thursday.

The latest dismissals bring the total number of fired employees to 17,871 -- almost half the 38,000-strong work force at Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., a company spokesman said.

Most workers, including management, joined the national strike to demand Chavez's resignation or early elections. The stoppage paralyzed the world's fifth-largest oil industry and cost Venezuela $6 billion but fizzled out last month without achieving its goal.

Despite the reduced personnel, the government says it has restored crude oil production to pre-strike levels of more than 3 million barrels a day. Fired executives say output is 2.4 million.

The government also says it is taking advantage of the strike to reorganize the monopoly, reduce its excess bureaucracy and increase government control over the company.

Chavez's opponents accuse him of riding roughshod over the country's democratic institutions in his self-described "revolution" to help Venezuela's poor.

Chavez in turn accuses the opposition of incessantly conspiring to overthrow his elected government.