Refusal to bargain in good faith: In January 2012, a group of 600 workers employed at Polar accused the company of blocking salary discussions during collective bargaining.

Attempted violence against union leader: On 21 May 2012, an armed assailant entered the EFE ice cream factory (part of the Polar group) in Caracas and asked to see Abraham Rivas, General Secretary of the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores Socialistas de Productos EFE and also General Secretary of the recently created Federación Nacional Clasista de Trabajadores de Alimentos, Bebidas, Conexos y Afines (FENACTRALBECA), which organises workers in 21 different companies belonging to the Polar Group. The workers became suspicious and when they called the National Bolivarian Guard it was revealed that the man had been hired to carry out an attack on Abraham Rivas.

Interference in the right to elect workers' representatives: In February 2012, Elio Sayago was dismissed from his position as worker-president at the state aluminium company CVG Aluminio del Caroní S.A. (CVG ALCASA) and replaced by Angel Marcano.

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