Feb 2 2009 at bottom of page:

Workers enjoy new benefits Revemin
Monday, 02 February 2009
Employees now enjoy equal conditions Minerven staff. The secretary
general of Sintrarevemin, Dennis Ramirez acknowledges the improvements
and changes in our environment.



The plant is clean and orderly after being taken under the tutelage of
Minerven. Photo William Urdaneta employees Revemin-Bonanza Mining,
belonging to the transnational Crystallex enjoy further benefits after
the Venezuelan government took control of the plant located in El
Callao. The reversion of the mining concession was made in October in
2008 and since then CVG Minerven, a company that took over the
administration, the area is recovering and the capacity of mineral
processing.

Dennis Ramirez, Secretary General of Workers Union Revemin
(Sintrarevemin), said that "we affirm that the attitude of the company,
we have experienced substantial improvements, which is production, food
voucher and a series of contractual benefits that are enjoy, thanks to
the policy which had the engineer Luis Herrera, president of Minerven,
to move on to the Bonanza Mining Revemin at the hands of Minerven.

Before becoming part of the holding Revemin workers had low wages,
that before he had unsafe conditions in different areas, all this was
reported months ago by Ramirez, who along with his companions fought a
hard fight to prevent Crystallex stay with the plant.

After the drink bitter employees begin to "eat the ripe and exploited
to make the company become more productive due to changes in the
conveyor belts and proper maintenance of equipment.

Salary hike
The secretary explained that everything was done in record time, "so
substantial in a process of 11 days was the reversal of this plant to
state, so it immediately went to all the benefits we enjoy today that
the 141 workers who we are on the floor. "

He added that "the trans gave us a salary far below, was previously in
an average of 28 daily bolívares strong and now we have strong
newspapers in 40 bolivars. In others the change was more substantial,
700-strong bolivar bolivar in 1600 are now strong. Besides this the
weather is very different, there is security, there is a pleasant
environment, there are cleaning. "

With regard to the unification of trade unions, which is now among the
workers in the south, said it would strengthen the group of mining
companies and make them stronger. As for the single contract miner said:
"It is a subject that is on the table, but has not been good, we have
talked."

Despite all this it is not all "rosy" and the union must appeal by a
set of liabilities Revemin-Bonanza Mining stopped them. One of the most
affected group of nurses to whom they owed the payment of Sundays and
holidays as the bond supply.

Clean Operations
Francisco Gonzalez, supervisor of the area of operations, reported
that the company has two grinding lines, which they had to change the
straps to improve its performance by increasing the processing of 400
tonnes of ore at an average days between 1.200/1.500 tons day.

As for the environment in the plant, working with activated carbon to
achieve a higher recovery of gold, are extreme measures to avoid
polluting the environment and therefore have minimized the emission of
dust. The water used in the process is returned again and again to it.

Furthermore Jessica Hurtado, head of industrial safety, said that
since the plant took Minerven in October have not reported any accidents
at work, which is a major breakthrough.

Rojas emir, in charge of the plant Minerven, said it is well known in
Revemin everything done and that what surprised him most was the
maturity of the union at the time of reversal. He noted that they will
continue making every effort to lift Revemin and allow the maximum
utilization of the mineral is processed there. (NG)