The Daily Journal.— Venezuela’s university sector formally joined the nationwide public education shutdown this Wednesday. With this decision, academic activities across all levels of the country’s education system—from primary and secondary schools to the nation’s leading universities—have halted for 24 hours.
Faculty associations from autonomous and experimental universities coordinated their actions with the national teachers’ movement, advancing a common agenda that calls for an end to the government’s bonus-based compensation policy and the restoration of real wages.
José Gregorio Afonso, president of the Professors’ Association of the Central University of Venezuela (APUCV), confirmed the nationwide scope of the protest and outlined the key issues that led the university community to take labor action.
“Our demands remain the same: incorporating bonuses into our salaries, paying the professional responsibility bonus without discrimination, and opening collective bargaining discussions for all teaching unions,” he explained.
The APUCV leader stressed that the strike aims to send a strong, unified message to the administration of acting President Delcy Rodríguez regarding the direction of state university management.
“Together and with determination, we must speak out and show the country that the treatment of the university sector must move in a different direction,” he said.
The Reality in the Regions: ‘They Force Us to Tighten Our Belts to the Point of Suffocation’
In western Venezuela, the Professors’ Association of the National Experimental University of the Western Plains Ezequiel Zamora (APUNELLEZ), Barinas chapter, strongly endorsed the strike. Its president, Professor Genry Becerra, denounced what he described as severe financial hardship and a widening social gap between political leaders and the academic community.
“While those in power spend public money lavishly and wear increasingly larger belts, education workers must tighten theirs to the point of suffocation,” Becerra said in an interview with local media.
The union leader also recalled that the country no longer respects salary scales, vacation bonuses, year-end bonuses, or even severance benefits.
“The reality is that after more than 25 years of service, we reach the end of our careers owing money to the institution to which we devoted our professional lives,” Becerra stated.
Collapse of Social Welfare Programs
Discontent within the university sector extends far beyond the current salary scales. APUNELLEZ Barinas leaders warned about the dismantling of healthcare and social protection programs for university faculty.
“Government indifference, combined with the intervention of the university, has left our Social Welfare Institute (IPP) adrift. In its place, authorities created a white elephant that operates without accountability, would not withstand an audit, and threatens anyone who dares to demand transparency,” the union spokesperson said, referring to parallel healthcare structures imposed by the Ministry of University Education.
