FaSinPat, formerly known as Zanon, is a worker-controlled ceramic tile factory in the southern Argentine province of Neuquén, and one of the most prominent in the recovered factory movement of Argentina. The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός ( keramikos) A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as Ceramic, stone, metal or even Glass. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Regions See also Geography of Argentina The country is also divided into six or seven regions (seven when The Pampas is divided into the Pampas' plains Neuquén is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country at the northern end of Patagonia. Worker self-management (or autogestion) is a form of workplace decision-making in which the workers themselves agree on choices (for issues like customer care general production The name is short for Fábrica Sin Patrones, which means "Factory Without Bosses" in Spanish.
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Opening of the factory
The factory, formerly known as Zanon, was opened in the early 1980s by Luigi Zanon, while Argentina was ruled by a dictatorship. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. A dictatorship is usually defined as an autocratic Form of government in which the Government is ruled by a Dictator. According to Alejandro López, a representative of the workers union, Zanon factory was built on public land using public funding from the national and provincial governments which were never repaid. [1] In the inaugural parade, Luigi Zanon congratulated the military government for "keeping Argentina safe for investments", in an obvious reference to the Dirty War (the illegal repression of political dissidents). This article refers to the Argentine Dirty War for the British film of the same name see Dirty War (film. During the 1990s, Zanon grew because of loans from the national and provincial governments; Luigi Zanon was a good friend of both former president Carlos Menem and the current governor of Neuquén, Jorge Sobisch. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 The President of Argentina (full title President of the Argentine Nation, Spanish: Presidente de la Nación Argentina) is the Head of state Carlos Saúl Menem Akil (born July 2, 1930) was President of Argentina from July 8, 1989 to December 10, 1999 Jorge Omar Sobisch (born 1943 is an Argentine centre-right politician formerly governor of Neuquén Province.
According to López, the Zanon labour union came under the control of criminal elements that acted in collusion with the factory owners during the 1990s, when Argentine labour laws offered little protection to workers. A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 Labour law (also known as employment or labor law is the body of Laws administrative rulings and precedents which address the legal rights of and restrictions In 2000, after they had taken back control of the union leadership, Zanon workers started to demand improved working conditions. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. The increased labour activism led to serious conflict with the factory owner, who started firing workers until he decided for a lockout in 2001 in the hope of hiring a more docile workforce in the future. Termination of employment is the end of an Employee 's duration with an Employer. A lockout is a Work stoppage in which an Employer prevents employees from working Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.
Closure of Zanon factory and take-over by workers
After the closure of the Zanon factory, workers took control of the factory in a desperate attempt to keep their jobs. They justified this by the large amount of money they were owed in back pay, the fact that the Zanon factory had been built with public funds, as well as worries about asset stripping. Asset stripping involves selling the Assets of a business individually at a profit These events occurred in the general context of the turmoil created by the 2001 economic crisis. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.
In the beginning, the takeover was not resisted by Luigi Zanon. In 2002, the government abandoned the fixed 1-to-1 peso-dollar parity and decreed the pesificación ("peso-ification"), that is, the conversion of all bank accounts denominated in dollars into pesos at the official rate. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. A fixed exchange rate, sometimes called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of Exchange rate regime wherein a Currency 's value is matched to the value of As a result of the changed economic environment, FaSinPat started to be profitable again, and Luigi Zanon attempted to reclaim ownership of the factory. This included legal action, and pressure to force the government to evict all of the workers. FaSinPat have also been the target of increasing violence and death threats, such as a female worker who was kidnapped and tortured in March 2005. March 2005: ← - January 2005 - February 2005 - March - April 2005 - May 2005 - June 2005 - July 2005 [2]
Economically, FaSinPat has been successful and was able to expand. During four years of operation, over 170 new workers have been hired, bringing the total number of workers to 410 as of April 2005. [3]
FaSinPat has nurtured the relationship with the surrounding community. From the start, the recovered factory donated tiles to community centers and hospital and organised cultural activities for the community on its premises. In 2005, FaSinPat voted to build a community health clinic in the impoverished Nueva España neighbourhood. The inhabitants of Nueva España had been demanding such a clinic from the provincial government for two decades; FaSinPat built it in three months. [4] Community support has been very important to protect the recovered factory from the threats it is subjected to.
See also
External links
- FasinPat website (in Spanish)
- Obreros de Zanon("Workers of Zanon", in Spanish)
- Argentine Lessons Zmag, March 2004
- Zanón to FaSinPat (an Infoshop.org article, translated and originally from lavaca.org)
- Zanon: Worker Managed Production, Community and Dignity
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