This disparity between the minimum wage and the cost of living has prompted teachers and university professors to lead the protests in recent months, increasing the average number of street activities in 2022, as detected by the Observatory of Universities
The Monitor of the Observatory of Universities (OBU) registered 39 protests in this sector during the month of January, a figure that is equivalent to 50% of the 78 protests reported throughout the past year.
“Only in January, university students protested half as often as in all of 2022. In January, Monitor OBU registered 39 protests by the university sector, half of the 78 that were registered last year,” the observatory said. through his Twitter account.
He report entitled “Defend your Right” details that the protest is mainly to denounce the “systematic violation of the right to a decent wage, freedom of union association without interference, fair collective bargaining and quality education with adequate infrastructure.”
Observatory of Universities emphasizes that the Executive avoids honoring its constitutional obligations by hiding behind a financial “blockade” that prevents them from obtaining sufficient funds to decree a salary increase, but meanwhile they maintain a narrative about the economic growth of the country, with million-dollar investments between private and public.
“The government’s insistence on presenting an improvement in socioeconomic conditions in Venezuela crashes against the wall of reality suffered by the vast majority of the population that subsists doing ropes on the minimum wage,” the document highlights.
*Also read: How does the minimum wage in Venezuela compare to the rest of Latin America?
They also reject the discourse of the ruling party, which tries to make the civilian population believe that “the teachers and workers of the entire educational system dependent on the public sector refuse to work.”
The minimum wage in force since March 2022 is Bs 130 per month, which at the exchange rate established by the Central Bank of Venezuela until this Friday, February 10, is equivalent to $5.37. In contrast, the basic food basket measured by the Center for Documentation and Social Analysis of the Federation of Teachers (Cendas-FVM) totaled $485 in December.
This disparity between the minimum wage and the cost of living has prompted teachers and university professors to lead the protests in recent months, in which various union organizations and other affected workers have joined, such as those who are employed by the sector doctor.
*Read also: Inaesin registered more than 170 labor protests during January 2023
The demands are focused on a salary increase, but they generally reject various labor policies of the “worker” government of Nicolás Maduro, such as the application of the Onapre instructive that changes the way in which benefits are calculated for workers.
Last week the third Social Dialogue Forum was held, which brought together private employers, trade union organizations and the Government in meetings mediated by the International Labor Organization (ILO). Despite the fact that expectations were focused on an announcement of a salary increase at the close of the forum, it was only agreed to set up technical tables for the discussion of a mechanism for setting the minimum wage, which will then be left to the discretion of the Executive.
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