UNT leader Ruben Linares in Berlin

UNT leader Ruben Linares began his tour of Germany with a hectic schedule of meetings in Berlin. Greeted by members of the Berlin Venezuela Network and Hands Off Venezuela he immediately went to visit the strikers at the digger making factory, Case New Holland, where workers have been on strike for nearly three months against the planned closure of the plant by owners Fiat.

Ruben discussed the history of the strike and the factory with the workers and union representatives, taking detailed notes. He was informed of the factory's 130-year history of producing some of the finest quality machines in the world, and how the new Fiat managers, through a senseless re-branding campaign succeeded in losing much of the traditional market share.

Ruben Linares at the strike of CNH in Berlin Spandau

Ruben was welcomed to speak at the daily strike meeting, which was attended by over 150 workers. He explained what he would report about the strike to his union in Venezuela. This was received with a tremendous applause by the strikers.

After an evening with activists he met with the head of the Left Party, PDS, Lothar Brisky at Karl Liebknecht house. This contact was made thanks to the support for Hands off Venezuela from Andrej Hermlin, a renowned Jazz musician whose father Stephan was a famous writer and Communist fighter under Hitler as well as in the GDR. Comrade Lothar Brisky promised to call a Party conference on the processes in Latin American for November and that the issue of Venezuela would be at the top of the agenda. Hands off Venezuela encouraged comrade Brisky to invite President Chavez to Berlin where many thousands would be glad to hear him speak.

Further meetings were held at Parliament with SPD MP Lothar Mark and with the international department of the DGB, the German Trade Union confederation, where friendly relations have now been established.

On Wednesday May 17, Hands off Venezuela along with IG Metall (the international
department) Europe's biggest trade union, Rotdorn the youth newspaper of SOLID
(Left Party youth) for Berlin-Brandenburg, the Left Party PDS, and the Venezuela Network, held a packed meeting at the conference centre of IG Metall with over 120 people present. Unfortunately a few days before the meeting a handful of sectarian activists from the WASG "Electoral Alternative for Social Justice" arranged a meeting on the same day and at the same time. This meeting was to take place some 500 meters away with Stalin Perez speaking, who is also in the UNT leadership. In order to avoid pointless competition we invited Stalin Perez and the WASG to attend our long planned meeting.

Left to Right: Andrej Hermlin Swing (Jazz Musician), Lothar Brisky (PDS president), and Ruben Linares

Ruben Linares made a tremendous speech explaining the advances and problems confronting the Venezuelan Revolution and the Venezuelan working class in particular. Among those present were Helmut Schulz from the Left Party-PDS leadership, the Marxist actress Kaethe Reichel, the Venezuelan Ambassador to Germany, Blanca Nieva, and a wide cross section of people from school students to pensioners. The meeting tapped into the evident thirst for information on Venezuela that exists. People see the hope of the world in developments there.

On Thursday Ruben visited a major works depot of the Berlin buses and trams, holding detailed discussions with the leaders of the works council and touring the works informing himself about working conditions and the many struggles against privatisation and staff reduction, which have reduced the staff levels from over 27,000 15 years ago to some 11,000 today.

A detailed exchange of views and experiences allowed both sides to see how the rights of the Berlin transport workers and the Venezuelan transport workers can be advanced. It became clear that the conditions of work in public sector transport in Berlin were far superior to Venezuela, yet the legal and political framework in Venezuela is in many senses superior to that in Germany. We discussed the means used to bring together transport workers from across Europe and the world.

Ruben Linares invited the comrades from Berlin to the National Congress of transport workers in Venezuela, due to be held in the autumn this year. Hands off Venezuela is proud to have initiated the process that will lead to the recognition of the UNT by the German unions and which will also place Venezuela at the top of the agenda on the Left in Germany.