Two marches called by independent unions will define the activity of the labor movement this Thursday, April 30 and Friday, May 1, in protest over wage demands.
The first will take place on Thursday, April 30, called by the National Trade Union Coalition, which called for gathering at 9:00 am in Plaza Morelos, in Candelaria, to march towards the Miraflores Palace.
The workers, according to the leader José Patines, demand an immediate salary increase, the elimination of bonus payments and their incorporation into the base salary, in addition to job improvements for teachers, retirees and pensioners.
This mobilization will be one day before International Workers’ Day, in which Delcy Rodríguez’s official announcement about a supposed “responsible” salary increase for May 1 is expected to take place.
Also, on Friday, May 1, the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV), together with other union centers such as UNT and CUTV, plans the Great National Unitary March. In Caracas, participants will gather at 9:30 am in Plaza Brión de Chacaíto and will go to Plaza Morelos, in front of the Ombudsman’s Office.
The main demands of this sector include a salary that covers the basic family basket, respect for collective contracts, the repeal of the Onapre instructions and the end of the use of the Patria platform as an instrument of control over workers.
Union leaders indicated that the traditional May 1 march seeks to show unity between active workers, retirees and pensioners from the public and private sectors. Similar calls are planned in several states of the country, where more than 30 unions confirmed their participation.
The minimum wage in Venezuela has remained frozen for years and its real value is equivalent to cents on the dollar, far below what is necessary to cover the basic needs of a family. In previous marches, such as the one on April 9, security forces blocked the protesters and used tear gas.
Until now, the government has not specified the amount of the possible salary increase that it would announce next Friday. The unions warned that they will keep protests in the streets until concrete answers are achieved.
The ruling party, for its part, announced days before that May 1 will be the final mobilization of its “pilgrimage” against the sanctions imposed on various sectors of the government.
