Carlos Julio Rivera, a member of the Association of Social Security Retirees and Pensioners, said that the amount of the bonuses is similar to last year and today “we cannot buy absolutely anything.” He recalled that in the past these stipends were calculated at the cost of the basic basket, which stood at $539 last August.
Active and retired workers in the health and education sectors protested this Wednesday against the low amounts of bonuses, which began to be paid in installments and whose amounts do not exceed $15.
«For a bone, for a bone only my salary is enough! “Where is what they said they were going to pay us?” were part of the workers’ slogans in front of the Ministries of Labor and Health, where communications were delivered to request a new calculation of these stipends.
Teresa Matos, a retiree from the health sector, commented that her bonus reached 400 bolivars, about 10 dollars calculated at the rate of the Central Bank of Venezuela for this Wednesday (Bs 38.91).
«What am I going to do with 400 bolivars? I spent them on I don’t know what. I felt bad because I dedicated so many years to the institution and that’s what they pay us for. I say that this government wants to completely exterminate us. “I feel cheated, I think that for this government the old people are waste,” she said.
12:16pm #Caracas #NOW | Teresa Matos, retired from the health sector: for the Government we are waste. My children help me financially, but if I were alone I don’t know how I would do #16oct pic.twitter.com/CUQE3Y4x5j
— El Pitazo (@ElPitazoTV) October 16, 2024
Union leader Mauro Zambrano, coordinator of Monitor Salud, explained that the amounts reported range between four dollars and 15 dollars, which is why he questioned the calls of the ruler Nicolás Maduro for a “happy Christmas” in the midst of an unresolved political crisis. due to the results of the presidential elections.
«It surprises me that the government talks about peace, about tranquility, but all the workers at this moment have the least of that. “How does one buy a Baby Jesus with an eight-dollar bonus?” he pointed out.
Zambrano reiterated that they are facing a bonus “that is not in line with reality,” because the amounts should be between $1,500 and $2,000 to comply with what article 91 of the Constitution says:
“Every worker has the right to a sufficient salary that allows him or her to live with dignity and cover the basic material, social and intellectual needs for himself and his family.”
He also denounced threats to workers within the hospitals themselves, some of whom have been photographed by Dgcim officials in their workplaces.
«We have to protest because we are right and because we have the right. By right they can’t put us in prison, by right they can’t grab us and intimidate us, that’s why we have to continue the fight. There are retirees here, there are people from the health sector, education and we are not going to rest until we achieve the goal,” he insisted.
12:00pm # Caracas #NOW | Outside the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor, the different unions demand the payment of decent bonuses. They protest and, in turn, submit a document with demands before these institutions to restore their benefits. #16oct pic.twitter.com/Lh5ZAqGL9g
— El Pitazo (@ElPitazoTV) October 16, 2024
Carlos Julio Rivera, a member of the Association of Social Security Retirees and Pensioners, said that the amount of the bonus is similar to last year and today “we cannot buy absolutely anything.” He recalled that in the past these stipends were calculated at the cost of the basic basket, which stood at $539 last August, according to the Documentation and Social Analysis Center of the Venezuelan Federation of Teachers (Cendas-FVM).
«We received four dollars. The sad and unfortunate thing about this is that it is said that there is no money for the working class. One sees that the National Assembly receives 12 months of bonus, compared to us who receive four,” he assured.
Those 12 months of bonuses, Rivera said, will also be received by the workers of the Supreme Court of Justice. «It does not compare with what the government preaches. “They talk about equality, but here there is inequality.”
While Judith León, president of the Federation of Colleges of Bioanalysts of Venezuela, indicated that this union received a first part of bonuses of 15 dollars
«We cannot talk about quality of life nor can we see the social well-being of a country or of the workers when we talk about having a minimum wage of 130 bolivars. That is why massive immigration, professionals do not see opportunities within the country or what we are here, that we make efforts for the country to change and we do not have conditions,” he highlighted.
León made a “call for reflection that this salary policy that is being implemented and we must adhere to the Constitution because there are all the parameters that must be executed.”
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