The Venezuelan teachers invite other labor sectors to join the protests to jointly demand wage improvements and the restitution of the rights in force in collective bargaining within the framework of Teacher’s Day
Author: Katherine Dona – El Pitazo
The lack of pedagogical training, the lack of investment in teaching structures in the country and salary incentives that motivate educators are some of the complaints that the union makes this Sunday, January 15, Teacher’s Day.
This date went from being a commemorative date among professionals in the area to becoming an occasion for protest, since one of their biggest fears is that they do not see short-term solutions.
“The Education protests will be throughout the month because we have nothing to celebrate,” the president of the Venezuelan Union of Teachers of the Capital District (SinvemaDC), Edgar Machado, told El Pitazo.
For her part, the national teacher’s leader and member of the National Union Coalition, Elsa Castillo, indicated that the problems in the education sector do not come from now, but from a few years ago.
“None of the last three ministers (Aristóbulo Istúriz, Eduardo Piñate and Yelitze Santaella) have given their footing and they do not have a single project to solve education problems,” Castillo told the whistle.
The union leader indicated that a “Minister of Education must be mounted on pedagogical work”, otherwise he does not fulfill this type of position.
Teachers began this year in the streets of the entire country protesting to demand that their salaries be adjusted because the last increase in the minimum wage and their tabulators were consumed by inflation. Currently, a teacher earns about 30 dollars a month.
While educators collect these amounts, the cost of the basic basket in November 2022 closed at 475 dollars, according to the Center for Documentation and Social Analysis of the Venezuelan Federation of Teachers (Cendas-FVM). That is precisely the reason, indicate the leaders, why teachers want to be heard in the streets of the country.
*Also read: How does the minimum wage in Venezuela compare to the rest of Latin America?
Castillo questioned that the Minister of Education, Yelitze Santaella, is more involved in politics than in the needs of the sector she leads. She pointed out that it is difficult for people who do not have a vocation for this area to understand what the needs and priorities of educators are.
The professional, with more than 37 years of work, stressed that true teachers feel satisfaction when seeing that a student learns a new skill or programmatic content, it is something that fills them up and makes them want to continue despite adversities.
January, month of protests
Educators are expected to gather at the Ministry of Education, located at the corner of Salas, in Caracas, on Monday, January 16, reported union leaders.
This would be the second consecutive week in which this sector protests in that place to demand the signing of a new collective contract, which provides them with decent wages, which allows them to cover their basic needs.
The national teacher’s leader, Elsa Castillo, called on educators to join the mobilizations in the coming days, since it is the only thing that will make a difference and provide a solution to the problems that the union is going through.
“The only thing that will open the way to prosperity, to the recovery of our quality of life, not only that of educators but that of all of Venezuela, is that we protest,” Castillo said.
Likewise, the well-known union spokesperson, persecuted for sending strong messages to President Nicolás Maduro, added that there are no reasons for educators to be mired in misery and despair. “This has a solution,” she emphasized.
* Also read: Teachers in protest: “The Government buried our quality of life”
Castillo reiterated that the call to the Venezuelan population is to maintain the protests because it is the only tool available to get out of the current situation.
«Protest, street and fight. On the 16th we have a great national protest and we invite parents, representatives, students, members of the entire educational community and everyone, as well as the workers, because we have the legitimate right to fight for our survival”, affirmed the leader.
Union of all sectors
In turn, Professor Castillo added that although the protest is for Teacher’s Day, it is not exclusive to educators. Therefore, she invited the entire Venezuelan population to join this fight. “We want benefits for all of Venezuela because we all deserve respect, quality of life, and constitutional guarantees.”
Castillo recognized that one of the problems in the fight for rights is the lack of hope. However, he asserted that right now the workers in Venezuela are unified.
“We are fighting in favor of Venezuelan families and students, as well as the quality of education, because Venezuela is a country that has many resources and should not go through any type of hardship,” said the teacher’s representative.
Castillo concluded with a message to President Nicolás Maduro: “Do what you have to do. Search in the depths of his conscience for the solution of Venezuela, which is not his answer, because he already obtained it a long time ago when he rose in social status ».
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