Caracas, April 1 - The Venezuelan operations of Coca-Cola Femsa SAB were severely hampered as 14 plants were blocked by picketers because of a labor dispute.
Nearly 51% of the sales volume of Femsa in Venezuela was hobbled because of the picketers, according to statements from Rodrigo Anzola, the company's legal director, to El Nacional daily.
This is the second time this year that the operations of Femsa in Venezuela have been affected by a labor dispute that stems from former distributors who are demanding compensation as former company workers. The company insists that the distributors only had a business relationship with it, and were not official employees.
The picketers agreed in February to let the government intervene in the dispute and propose a solution.
Monday, a special committee composed by members of the National Assembly presented a proposal on what compensation the former distributors should receive, which was deemed to low by the workers, triggering the new blockades by the picketers.