The Observatory of Labor Conflict and Union Management of the Institute of Advanced Trade Union Studies (Inaesin) highlighted that 70% of workers’ protests have the salary component as the main reason for discontent and 90% of those who demand improvements are part of the public sector payroll.
The impoverishment of wages, salaries and pensions is the main cause of labor conflicts in Venezuela, according to data compiled by the Observatory of Labor Conflict and Union Management of the Institute of Advanced Trade Union Studies (Inaesin), while institutional channels for conflict resolution have shown their ineffectiveness.
“The government’s wage policy is widely rejected and it is no wonder, since, among other aspects, the minimum wage has been frozen since March 2022 which today represents just $3.55 a month. Consequently, salary scales and employment benefits that are calculated based on the minimum wage are
“have been affected,” said León Arismendi, general director of Inaesin.
Remember that about 70% of workers’ protests have the salary component as their center and 90% of those demanding improvements are part of the public sector payroll.
Another aspect linked to labor conflicts in the country is the ineffectiveness of institutional channels for resolving disputes. “The unions do not go to the Labor Inspectorates because they know in advance that their claims will not be addressed. The petitions, conciliatory or conflictual, are not processed if the accused
“It is a public entity,” says Arismendi.
The lack of independence and autonomy of official trade unionism, The fact that the government’s policies seem to be confused with the interests of workers does not contribute to finding solutions. This is one of the reasons why the review of collective agreements has been paralysed, which accentuates discontent.
“These have been years of erroneous policies that have had a negative impact on the purchasing power of Venezuelans, so the hackneyed official argument that sanctions are the cause of the destruction of the value of work does not convince almost anyone,” says the director of Inaesin.
The need for a change of strategy so that labour problems are properly addressed has been addressed by the working class. And the opportunity to achieve solutions could come on July 28 with the holding of the presidential elections.
In recent years The presence of the International Labour Organization (ILO) has been fundamental for the defense of labor rights and trade unions in Venezuela, for example, by agreeing to a Commission of Inquiry in March 2018, in response to repeated violations of United Nations conventions.
This investigation procedure generated a report with recommendations in September 2019, but the government has not formally recognized them. In addition, with the mediation of the ILO, the Social Dialogue Forum was established in March 2022, a tripartite mechanism that has not advanced at the expected pace.
In this regard, the acting general secretary of the Confederation of Workers of Venezuela (CTV), José Elías Torres, during his participation in the 112th Session of the International Labor Conference, held from June 3 to 14, 2024 in Geneva-Switzerland, again requested Gilbert F. Houngbo, Director General of the ILO, his services to the government of Venezuela because Neither the willingness nor the expected benefits for workers in the tripartite dialogue are evident, thus evading their responsibilities and commitments. Meanwhile, poverty and precariousness among the working class, retirees and pensioners continue to increase.
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