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To: ItsAllCyclical who wrote (54930)	11/17/1999 1:36:00 PM
From: oilbabe	Respond to of 95453

Caracas, Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan oil unions said they could strike next week to protest slow contract talks with the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA. The three largest unions plan to formally petition the Labor Ministry on Thursday, which could pave the way for a strike to begin five days later. A strike could halt crude shipments from South America's biggest oil producer and exporter. A meeting between unions and Labor Minister Lino Martinez late Monday failed to resolve the conflict, officials said. ``We demand that PDVSA negotiate our new contract to avoid a strike,' said Aniceto Perez, a spokesman for the largest union, Fedepetrol. ``The minister acted pompously toward the unions in our meeting yesterday.' So far this year, the unions' bark has been fiercer than their bite. Only one of seven threats to strike was acted on, a 24-hour work stoppage in January that had no effect on oil shipments. If unions fail to gain approval to strike, they must take their petition to court or strike illegally. PDVSA, which ships about 16 percent of U.S. crude imports, has said it can keep up exports at full steam for about a week in the event of a strike. Venezuelan oil workers are demanding that PDVSA grant them salary increases and benefits, including premiums on severance pay, in a new contract, after their current one runs out at the end of the month. The three unions, Fedepetrol, Fetra-hidrocarburos and Sintraip, which are traditionally rivals, said they'll form a common front against PDVSA if seven-week-old contract talks continue to languish. The unions claim to have the support of more than 40,000 of the country's oil industry workers. PDVSA officials declined to comment. Crude oil for January settlement rose as much as 41 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $24.95 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange in London, near a three-year high.