On April 1 the United
Trade Unions of Venezuela gave the following statement on the
situation in their country:
The country is in
crisis
Our country is at a
crossroad. The crisis that overwhelms us in very noticeable
expressions, not only in the field of the exercise of freedoms, of
civil and political rights – in recent times one sees a deplorable
growth of intolerance, militarism, state repression and restrictions,
but also in the field of the economic and social rights enshrined in
the Constitution and the laws; areas in which the setbacks are felt
most by the entire population, and more by those who rely on a wage,
a salary or a pension.
The government, more
interested to stay in power than to look for a solution to the
demands and the national problems, shatter the hopes on a better
life, as has been expressed by the popular support for the process of
change that was offered to the Venezuelans 15 years ago. The
institutions under the Constitution (Supreme Court, Elections,
Ombudsman's Office and Comptroller General of the Republic) have been
kidnapped by the government, leaving the society – and above all
those who work for a living – in absolute helplessness. The daily
actions of these institutions in favour of the government clearly
show that there is no division of powers, no rule of law and less
social justice, as stated in our Constitution.
The working class is
suffering
The working class
suffers most from the deteriorating conditions of living and working,
which can no longer be hidden behind speeches and slogans. The
decline in the purchasing power of wages continues; nominal value has
nothing to do with the real costs to live, because the "increases"-
whether by decree or collective agreement - get lost in a crazy
economy, in which money has no support in the domestic production of
goods and services.
The economic model
stimulates inflation, speculation and corruption, and therefore it
impoverishes the majority and it enriches the few, the old and new
oligarchies. The only difference with the "paquetazos" of
previous governments, is the deceptive and manipulative discourse.
Ultimately all measures such as economic adjustments, the rise in
prices and the constant devaluations are a greater burden for the
people, the workers, all those who live of a salary.
Our national production
is destroyed
The government
discourages industrialization and agricultural production, leads
nationalized companies in a crisis by a low production or by
paralyzing, where the rights of working men and women are violated,
collective agreements are not discussed and trade union autonomy is
not respected ; making imports as the only way to supply the country
with basic food products for the population, that makes the economy
more dependent and goes against the food sovereignty.
Employment and the
right to work increasingly depend of oil revenues which the
government manages on an authoritarian and despotic manner. Every day
areas of productive investment are weakened or closed: basic
industries, automotive industry and auto parts; cement,
agro-industry, textile manufacturing, graphic and print production;
chemistry laboratories and industry, among others. The use of
patronage and blackmail of jobs in the public administration, which
was not an invention of the last 15 years, but has been led by this
government to unprecedented exponential degrees – and goes to the
extreme of ignoring basic labor rights and of affecting of human
dignity in wanting to control the personal lives of those who work in
state institutions. Today more than ever, the state as employer
promotes all kind of illegal contracts that puts workers in a
situation of extreme vulnerability in the moment they stand for their
rights.
No decent work is
created
Although the official
unemployment figures are below 10%, the reality shows us that
underemployment and informal work has achieved a rate higher than
40%, which means a great loss of productive capacity because it
reduces the development of sustainable, permanent jobs covered by
social security. This economic and social environment does not offer
room to develop the talent and skills of the highly skilled segment
of the working class, who have made efforts to advance their
professional knowledge. This not only results in measured
unemployment, underemployment or migration of professionals to other
nations, but transcends to an insurmountable obstacle for Venezuela
to break the chains of dependence and promote a sovereign and
independent economic development.
Criminalization of
labor rights
In this chaotic
picture, labor rights have suffered a great defeat, made worse by the
anti-trade union policy of the government. To ignore legitimate trade
union representation at the moment when issues of labor relations
come to a point – whether with respect to a collective agreement,
changes in labor law or public policy – means a denial of a true
social dialogue and curtails the autonomy of workers to choose the
trade union they believe to fit most to their class interests.
To be added to this
undemocratic attitude is the criminalization of social protest and
labor. Through shameless political party politicization of the system
of justice, many colleagues and trade union leaders are arrested,
tried and imprisoned only because they promoted actions in defense of
labor rights. The right to strike has been turned into an offense,
which brings immediate trial and imprisonment, based on standards
that are absolutely contrary to the Constitution as provided for in
the Organic Law on National Security and Defense or the reform of the
Penal Code of 2005 and the Law for the Defense of People Access to
Goods and Services of 2010, and other laws that relate trade union
action with crime and even terrorism.
In these difficult
times of our nation, we do not accept that the government or the top
of the political parties, whatever their political beliefs, implement
a balanced and fair solution to the political, economic and social
crisis, without the presence and active participation of workers,
their trade unions and labor organizations, and the popular movement
as a whole. We declare ourselves opposed to any proposal that rolls
back or violates the democratic rights and freedoms, and we condemn
also the growing intolerance and militarism in resolving conflicts.
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| In response to an attack on students until they were naked, the students responded with the action "better naked" |
Growing social diseases
and social protests
We assume that the wave
of protests that shock the country demonstrates the frustration and
annoyance of the majority of Venezuelans about the rapid growth of
social diseases: insecurity, shortages of basic goods, high cost of
living, low wages, lack of stable and well-paid jobs, deterioration
in health services, education, roads, among those most felt. The
student movement is, on its own way, the expression to disagree with
a model that blocks the future.
Facing the protests,
the government responded with repression and violence, as they are
doing for years against workers and workers: using paramilitary and
vigilante groups along with state security forces, arrests, torture,
physical and psychological abuse; courts are used to destroy any
citizen and to create a climate of fear and intimidation in the style
of dictatorships.
For a new development
model
In our struggle to
uphold the rights of workers, against this or any other government
and against the public and private employer, we insist on promoting
an economy that directs to the development of our large production
capacities, and at the same time to respect the rights associated
with decent work.
The United Trade Unions
reiterate their rock solid commitment to promote change for the
benefit of the working people. This not only requires us to continue
to defend the autonomy and freedom of trade unions, the right to
collective bargaining and to strike, to decent wages and social
security, but also calls us to participate as fighters at the
ringside for a more just society, more democratic, more solidarity,
in a country where sovereignty and independence are not just slogans
but are settled down into an economic and social fortress to promote
the material and spiritual progress of all Venezuelans and
brotherhood with all people in the world.
Action plan of the
united trade unions
Starting today, we
present the following objectives of our Action Plan, which should be
widely announced, discussed and improved by workers in meetings on
their workplace :
1. Overall increase in
wages and salaries and establishment of a minimum wage , taken as
reference the cost of the basic food basket, as established in the
Constitution.
2 . Review of the
economic clauses of the collective agreements .
3. Amnesty for all
social activists who are imprisoned, those detained because of the
protests and to stop the trials against trade union and popular
leaders for exercising their rights as mentioned.
4. Respect for the
human and labor rights.
5.Withdraw the anti
trade union rules of DLOTTT and the laws that make protests into a
crime .
6. We require the
National Government to install inmediately the Tripartite Dialogue in
compliance with what has been approved by the Governing Body of the
ILO on March 27.
Rights and
constitutional guarantees are not negotiable but defended.
No
criminalization of protest
Stop state
terrorism - No to torture
Only with
a Social Dialogue a more just society is build
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