Venezuelan steelmaker Sidor shut down production for 24 hours Monday after employees refused to work in protest of the firm's security procedures following the explosion at furnace number five that caused the death of an employee last Sunday.
The firm's production stoppage started on Monday at around 6:00 AM and ended on Tuesday at 7:00 AM.
After the accident, employees demanded to talk to the firm's president and Minister of Basic and Mining Industries, Rodolfo Sanz, to talk about unsolved safety issues.
Mr. Sanz showed up at the mill, breaking his alleged four-month absence, to calm down the workforce and publicly show his condolences for the dead employee. He also recognized that a mistake caused the explosion as furnace five was supposed to be turned off.
Mr. Sanz indicated that after the stoppage of Sidor's six furnaces, furnaces one and two would resume operations while furnace five, and possibly furnace six, is reactivated.