Velásquez stated that the protest over wage claims is just one edge of the real problem in the country. He commented that the Maduro administration “destroyed the social value of work.” He insisted that a specific date should be set to hold the primaries in the opposition
The former governor of Bolívar state and national leader of the Cause R, Andrés Velásquez, stated this Thursday, August 11, that university teachers and public administration unions are right to be mobilized by the claim about the installment payment of the vacation bonus and the suffocation to the salary that makes the application of the Onapre instructions.
Velásquez reproached that the Executive is ignoring the full payment of vacations and the recreational bonus for retirees and pensioners, recalling that it must be paid in full when the person enjoys the corresponding vacation period. However, he believes that it is just the tip of the iceberg or one of the edges of the great problem that exists in Venezuela.
In that sense, he described the president, Nicolás Maduro, as the “greatest enemy” of workers in the country because during his administration the “social value of work” was destroyed. He also explained that the problem is due to other factors such as the precariousness of employment, the growing unemployment; disrespect for collective contracts and lack of freedom of association.
*Also read: ILO forecasts youth unemployment of 20.5% for Latin America in 2022
He warned that those who protest are prosecuted and imprisoned, and the dignity of the workers is not respected. For this reason, he insisted that abuse and arbitrariness occur when laws are not applied, collective bargaining is disrespected and justice is not applied.
Andrés Velásquez, in an interview granted to VPI, believes that there is a “deliberate resistance” on the part of some parties -such as Primero Justicia and UNT- to want to set a specific date for the opposition primaries. In his opinion, establishing it gives concreteness and sets objectives to be met, such as the appointment of an electoral board to coordinate everything.
*Also read: Guaidó assures that labor protests reveal a society that does not give up
He also referred to the eventual resumption of the negotiation table in Mexico, saying that this mechanism can work if responsibility for what is being done is strictly assumed and a comprehensive solution is sought, leading to political agreements that generate conditions electoral.
He believes that if only “concessions are made to Maduro for nothing”, those efforts will be useless. He called for the international community to push for the talks to be directed toward those goals. He recalled that it was the Executive that kicked the table when Colombian businessman Alex Saab was extradited to the United States and now they make the issue of the Venezuelan-Iranian plane an excuse.
Politician Andrés Velásquez stressed the need to provide solutions to the root of the problem and that has to do with institutionality. In this sense, he stressed that the political crisis must be resolved so that the rest has a way out.
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