News

The 3 country visit by the UNI delegation concluded with a tour of the Kimberly Clark plant in Maracay, Venezuela. Steve Walsh HoD, Marvin Largaespada, UNI Americas and Egle Sanchez, President of Feutragrafc met the local union and then had a very good discussion with the Management of the Kimberly Clark plant in Maracay.



Following that meeting there was a tour of the plant.



The onsite union and management have established a very good relationship and meet on a regular basis to discuss and resolve not only any issues that may arise but also to look at ways in which the workplace can continue to improve. Both the union and the management said that it was important that there be permanent contact with each other as this builds respect and helps ensure that both the objectives of the Company and the workers are met.



A feature of the plant in Venezuela is that all employees are permanent workers and while this is part of the Government’s employment strategy the fact that KC have been able to achieve this is an example to other companies in Venezuela. The Labour Minister is encouraging the spread of this initiative and the government should also be congratulated for working to eliminate outsourcing.



Health and safety is a major focus for the workplace and this was evident during the tour of the factory particularly around the clearly defined safety areas and the manner is which everyone approaches the importance of safety as this is a shared goal.



At the conclusion of the tour and discussion the HoD Steve Walsh thanked the company for their welcome and said that this was a great example of how the union and the management could work together to ensure prosperity for both. He also congratulated Franklin Angulo and his team on his recent election as the President of the Kimberly Clark union and the election of the other members.