The Daily Journal.- Unions representing healthcare workers, primary and secondary school teachers, and university staff will march to Miraflores Palace on Tuesday, October 13, to submit approximately 40,000 signatures to the national government. They demand that authorities calculate year-end bonuses based on workers’ total compensation rather than the official base salary, which remains frozen at 130 bolivars per month.
The demonstration in Caracas will begin at the Corazón de Jesús intersection on Universidad Avenue. Workers across the country will simultaneously hold protests outside state governors’ offices.
The National Conflict Committee of Workers in Struggle (CNCTL) and the United Trade Union Agreement have also joined the initiative, calling for a “massive presence in the streets” to demand a “fair calculation of year-end bonuses based on total compensation” and the reinstatement of collective bargaining agreements.
Pablo Zambrano, executive secretary of the Federation of Healthcare Workers (Fetrasalud), explained that the document they will deliver to acting President Delcy Rodríguez proposes compensation measures to address workers’ declining purchasing power. Zambrano demanded that authorities extend the professional responsibility bonus to administrative staff, manual workers, retirees, and pensioners. He also criticized the lack of concrete results from labor negotiations and the uncertainty surrounding government announcements concerning 2027.
Meanwhile, Carmen Teresa Márquez, president of the Venezuelan Federation of Teachers (FVM), urged the government to instruct Education Minister Héctor Rodríguez to resume collective bargaining negotiations and review salary scales.
Márquez emphasized that teachers are demanding the equivalent of $500 in year-end bonuses, warning about the distortions that arise when authorities calculate these payments using the official minimum wage.
“The government is about to pay the year-end bonus, and we cannot allow them to calculate it based on current salaries and the way they pay wages. A teacher would receive 3,000 bolivars as a year-end bonus, and we are demanding a $500 bonus for the education sector,” the union leader stated.
Union representatives reaffirmed the demonstration’s peaceful nature. They said submitting their list of demands aims to secure immediate formal commitments on socioeconomic provisions, seniority bonuses, and unpaid night-shift premiums.
