The day of mobilization called on Wednesday by various unions and unions in front of the headquarters of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) in Caracas was marred by arbitrary surveillance actions against the press.
The National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) reported that a security official from the highest court photographed the identity cards and faces of reporters from at least four media outlets covering the demonstration.
According to the report, the official approached the journalistic teams that arrived at the scene early and, after identifying himself as a member of the judicial body, urged the workers to show their credentials to be photographically recorded.
This incident occurred despite the fact that the protest activity took place in the public square located in front of the building and not within the facilities of the judicial facility.
Organizations defending freedom of expression described the incident as an intimidating act that seeks to inhibit the free exercise of journalism in the country.
Among the media affected by this control practice are teams from Dossier, TvCalle, Televen and El Martillo, who were covering labor complaints when they were approached by security personnel.
Cry for decent wages in the face of judicial silence
The central objective of the rally, which brought together public workers, retirees, pensioners and union leaders, was to demand definitive responses to the economic crisis that the sector is going through. Under the main slogan of “Living wage now”, the protesters recalled that the country has gone more than four years without an increase in the minimum wage, a situation that has pulverized the purchasing power of Venezuelan families.
The mobilization also had the academic support of deans of faculties of Legal and Political Sciences, especially from the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), who have accompanied the legal actions in defense of contractual rights.
The focus of the protest centered on the lawsuit for constitutional omission introduced on February 2, which seeks the protection of article 91 of the Magna Carta, which guarantees the right to a sufficient salary to live with dignity.
The protesters pointed out that the Constitutional Chamber of the TSJ has ignored the legal lapses, since more than two months after the delivery of the appeal, a ruling has not yet been issued, despite the fact that the law stipulates a period of just five days to respond to this type of requests.
Unions warn about the deepening of the labor conflict
During the day, various figures from the union and academic spheres raised their voices to question the paralysis of the judicial system in the face of social urgency.
Dick Guanique, union leader, emphasized that the court’s lack of response constitutes a serious breach of its institutional obligations, leaving workers in a situation of extreme vulnerability.
For his part, Juan Carlos Apitz, dean of the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences of the UCV, described it as unacceptable that, after years of waiting for a salary adjustment, the institutions in charge of administering justice maintain a prolonged silence in the face of claims that are of a vital nature.
Finally, the president of the UCV Professors Association, José Gregorio Afonso, ratified the commitment of the social sectors to remain organized and in the streets. Afonso announced that new peaceful protest actions will be evaluated in the coming days if the lack of solutions persists, insisting that the fight for salary improvements and social security will not stop until obtaining a formal response from the State and its judicial bodies.
