1.   Analysts doubt that the labor ministry will grant them permission to strike because of the lost of oil revenue.

2.   But the labor ministry is changing.

3.   In April, the labor ministry introduced sweeping new rules affecting discrimination against women and harassment in the workplace.

4.   Marco Biagi, a socialist lawyer who advised the labor ministry of the center-right government on the proposal, was assassinated in March.

5.   The labor ministry declared the temporary strike illegal, justifying the dismissals, he said.

6.   The two sides will meet again this afternoon in Caracas under the supervision of the labor ministry, union officials said.

7.   They have nowhere to turn in a country where the labor ministry and the courts are dysfunctional.

8.   Under Venezuelan law, all strikes must be approved by the labor ministry.

9.   Yoshiyuki Sugiura, an official at the labor ministry, says it will take another two decades for the lifetime-employment system to disappear completely.

10.   A state arbitration board is considering their demands but attempts by the labor ministry to resolve the stalemate failed this week.