In Venezuela, the state run postal service, Ipostel halts international mail delivery after workers protest and airline carriers reduce their flights. CCTV’s Martin Markovits reports.

Venezuela Postal Workers Protest

In Venezuela, the state run postal service, Ipostel halts international mail delivery after workers protest and airline carriers reduce their flights. CCTV's Martin Markovits reports.

Douglas Brito is a 20 year veteran Venezuela’s state run postal service. But since he works in the international deliveries department his job is on hold. Over a week ago, Ipostel’s international operations were halted indefinitely after hundreds of workers protested outside its facilities demanding better working conditions, higher wages, and asking for long expired contracts to be renewed in order to receive benefits.

Douglas told the reporter: “Now everything is halted because we don’t have enough materials to work with: we have no pens, no paper or toner for the computers.”

Worker dissatisfaction and protests are not the only reason the company stopped its international operations. Ipostel says it suspended mail delivery to 29 countries because of “excessive demand.”

Employees have also hinted that the problem is linked to an ongoing debt related dispute between the government and international airlines.

Jumber Cede works at Ipostel’s archive center. He’s been with the company for 11 years.

Jumber Cede asked: “Why did the airlines abandon Ipostel? Why does no one want to deliver the mail here? Why is there so much debt with the airlines?”

In recent weeks, major airline carriers, Alitalia, Lufthansa, and Air Canada have either stopped or reduced flights to Venezuela. And according to the International Air Transport Association, Venezuela owes close to $4 billion to international carriers.

According to President Nicolas Maduro, the reason that airlines cancelled and stopped their flights is unrelated to debts. He stated: “Some of these European airlines have reprogrammed flights until the World Cup is over and they’re re-directing flights to Brazil, given the large number of people around the world.”

Workers and the government are in midst of negotiations to help improve conditions and help resolve the standstill. A major concession was won by employees, after the government announced a new president would take over the troubled postal agency.