FaSinPat
Encyclopedia
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 name is short for Fábrica Sin Patrones, which means "Factory Without Bosses" in Spanish
.
. 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. In the inaugural parade, Luigi Zanon congratulated the military government for "keeping Argentina safe for investments", in a reference to the Dirty War
(the illegal repression of political dissidents). 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 former governor of Neuquén, Jorge Sobisch
.
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 law
s offered little protection to workers. In 2000, after they had taken back control of the union leadership, Zanon workers started to demand improved working conditions. 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.
. These events occurred in the general context of the turmoil created by the 2001 economic crisis.
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. 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.
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. They have had some problems because they pay full price for electricity and gas while the previous owner only paid 20%. FaSinPat is actually the only factory in Neuquén that pays full price for electricity and gas. In eight years the Neuquén Province
have not bought any tiles from FaSinPat.
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. Community support has been very important in protecting the recovered factory from the threats it is subjected to.
On August 14, 2009, the provincial legislature voted to expropriate the factory to the Zanon cooperative legally and indefinitely by a count of 26 for and 9 against. The state also agreed to pay the principal creditors still owed roughly 22 million pesos (around $7 million). Chief amongst these creditors are the World Bank, from whom Luis Zanon took a substantial loan to start the factory, and an Italian company called SACMY that produces ceramics machinery. However, the cooperative has resisted these moves, arguing that these creditors participated in a fraudulent bankruptcy in 2001, and that Zanon himself should be liable for these debts, because the credits went to him personally, and not the plant.
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
tile
Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
factory in the southern Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
province
Provinces of Argentina
Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city...
of Neuquén
Neuquén Province
Neuquén is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west...
, and one of the most prominent in the recovered factory movement of Argentina. The name is short for Fábrica Sin Patrones, which means "Factory Without Bosses" in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
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 dictatorshipDictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
. 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. In the inaugural parade, Luigi Zanon congratulated the military government for "keeping Argentina safe for investments", in a reference to the Dirty War
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
(the illegal repression of political dissidents). During the 1990s, Zanon grew because of loans from the national and provincial governments; Luigi Zanon was a good friend of both former president
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
Carlos Menem
Carlos Menem
Carlos Saúl Menem is an Argentine politician who was President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. He is currently an Argentine National Senator for La Rioja Province.-Early life:...
and former governor of Neuquén, Jorge Sobisch
Jorge Sobisch
Jorge Omar Sobisch is an Argentine centre-right politician, formerly governor of Neuquén Province. He leads the Neuquén People's Movement and was a candidate for President of Argentina in 2007.-Biography:...
.
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 law
Labour law
Labour law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees...
s offered little protection to workers. In 2000, after they had taken back control of the union leadership, Zanon workers started to demand improved working conditions. The increased labour activism led to serious conflict with the factory owner, who started firing
Termination of employment
-Involuntary termination:Involuntary termination is the employee's departure at the hands of the employer. There are two basic types of involuntary termination, known often as being "fired" and "laid off." To be fired, as opposed to being laid off, is generally thought of to be the employee's...
workers until he decided for a lockout
Lockout (industry)
A lockout is a work stoppage in which an employer prevents employees from working. This is different from a strike, in which employees refuse to work.- Causes :...
in 2001 in the hope of hiring a more docile workforce in the future.
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 strippingAsset stripping
Asset stripping involves selling the assets of a business individually at a profit. The term is generally used in a pejorative sense as such activity is not considered productive to the economy. Asset stripping is considered to be a problem in economies such as Russia or China that are making a...
. These events occurred in the general context of the turmoil created by the 2001 economic crisis.
In the beginning, the takeover was not resisted by Luigi Zanon. In 2002, the government abandoned the fixed 1-to-1 peso-dollar parity
Fixed exchange rate
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 another single currency or to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value, such as gold.A fixed exchange rate is usually used to...
and decreed the pesificación ("peso-ification"), that is, the conversion of all bank accounts denominated in dollars into pesos at the official rate. 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.
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. They have had some problems because they pay full price for electricity and gas while the previous owner only paid 20%. FaSinPat is actually the only factory in Neuquén that pays full price for electricity and gas. In eight years the Neuquén Province
Neuquén Province
Neuquén is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west...
have not bought any tiles from FaSinPat.
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. Community support has been very important in protecting the recovered factory from the threats it is subjected to.
On August 14, 2009, the provincial legislature voted to expropriate the factory to the Zanon cooperative legally and indefinitely by a count of 26 for and 9 against. The state also agreed to pay the principal creditors still owed roughly 22 million pesos (around $7 million). Chief amongst these creditors are the World Bank, from whom Luis Zanon took a substantial loan to start the factory, and an Italian company called SACMY that produces ceramics machinery. However, the cooperative has resisted these moves, arguing that these creditors participated in a fraudulent bankruptcy in 2001, and that Zanon himself should be liable for these debts, because the credits went to him personally, and not the plant.
External links
- FasinPat website (in Spanish)
- Obreros de Zanon ("Workers of Zanon", in Spanish)
- Lessons Zmag, March 2004
- Zanón to FaSinPat (an Infoshop.orgInfoshop.org- History :Infoshop was founded in January 1995 as the Mid-Atlantic Infoshop by Chuck Munson. Having previously co-founded an online archive of anarchist texts, the Spunk Library, in 1992, Munson established Infoshop as a general resource on anarchism, moving to the domain name Infoshop.org in 1998...
article, translated and originally from lavaca.org) - Zanon: Worker Managed Production, Community and Dignity