Historic trade union agreement places wage recovery at the centre of workers' struggle.
CNCTL
In an event of profound political, social and labour significance, more than fifty trade union, professional and social organisations in Venezuela, diverse in their ideological and political views, signed a National Unity Agreement that marks a historic turning point by breaking the fragmentation imposed on the workers' movement and placing class unity above differences, as a collective response to widespread impoverishment, repression and the criminalisation of protest, and as a firm expression of the struggle to recover wages, pensions, trade union freedom and labour rights systematically violated by the Venezuelan state.
Wages and pensions reduced to poverty
The central focus of the Unitary Agreement is the struggle to rescue wages and pensions, devastated by anti-labour policies that have destroyed the income of active workers, retirees and pensioners in the public and private sectors, replacing constitutional wages with discretionary bonuses that have no impact on labour rights or social security, in open violation of Article 91 of the Constitution and the Organic Labour Law, condemning millions of families to precariousness while the official discourse hides this reality with talk of economic growth that does not reach workers.
Anti-labour laws and destruction of historic achievements
The agreement points to instruments such as the Anti-Blockade Law, Special Economic Zones, Memorandum 2792 and the ONAPRE directive as directly responsible for this situation, as they have allowed the evasion of rights, outsourcing and the suspension of collective agreements, favouring the interests of employers in both the public and private sectors.
These measures have destroyed collective bargaining and left workers without effective legal protection against abuses by the state-employer.
Repression, criminalisation and attacks on trade union freedom
Another aspect of the agreement is the unrestricted defence of trade union freedom, conceived as a fundamental human right. The organisations denounce a systematic policy of police and judicial persecution, intervention in trade unions, imprisonment of trade union leaders, denial of the right to strike and criminalisation of labour protests, in violation of ILO Conventions 87 and 98.
In this context, the agreement demands the full release of all trade unionists who are imprisoned, prosecuted or disappeared, reaffirming that trade union struggle is not a crime and that without freedom of association there can be no real democracy.
Plural unity to rebuild the value of work
The agreement is based on the principle of unity in diversity, respecting the autonomy, ideological plurality and independence of each organisation. Far from imposing structures, the signatory confederations and trade unions undertake to maintain a unified, plural and representative body, aimed at coordinating joint actions and effectively following up on the commitments made.
They emphasise that unity is not a temporary measure, but an ethical response to the hunger, inequality and denial of rights that afflict the working class.
Concrete commitments to working people
Among the commitments made are the fight for wages and pensions that cover basic needs, the restoration of the real value of social benefits, the payment of accumulated historical debt, the full reactivation of collective agreements, the repeal of anti-labour laws and the guarantee of decent working conditions for all sectors, including informal workers, who are now the majority in the country.
The organisations also undertake to report these violations to international bodies and to promote a broad national campaign of union organisation, communication and mobilisation.
Announcement of a major national mobilisation on 15 January 2026
As a concrete expression of this new moment of unity, the agreement announces a major national day of mobilisation on 15 January 2026, as part of Teachers' Day, calling on all active and retired workers and pensioners in the public and private sectors to fight for the restoration of wages, pensions and labour rights.
Unity to recover what has been taken away
This agreement concludes with a clear definition of this historic moment: what has been taken from the working class will not be recovered through silence or resignation, but through unity, organisation and struggle. By asserting that wages are not just a figure but represent life, dignity and social justice, the signatory organisations turn this commitment into a roadmap for the reconquest of labour rights, making it clear that this is not a rhetorical statement, but an agreement to fight, to defend life and historical unity, with which the Venezuelan trade union movement announces that it is prepared to face misery and repression in order to recover what rightfully belongs to those who sustain the country with their work.
Plural support
The National Unity Agreement has the backing of the country's main trade union, professional and social movements, including the historic Confederation of Workers of Venezuela (CTV), United Workers' Central of Venezuela (CUTV), National Union of Workers (UNETE), Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Venezuela (CODESA), Independent Trade Union Alliance (ASI) and the General Confederation of Workers (CGT), together with emblematic organisations from the university, education and health sectors such as APUCV, SINATRAUCV, FETRASUV, the Capital District Nursing Association, APROUPEL-Maracay, SINDITEBA-FENATEV Barinas, the Sucre State Teachers' Coalition, the Simón Rodríguez Educators' Movement, REDEDUCADORES and the United Educators' Movement for Venezuela; as well as regional expressions of struggle such as the National Union for Social, Trade Union and Guild Action of Zulia (UNASSG), the Social Alliance of Workers of Aragua (ASTA), the Bolivarian Union of Employees of the Mayor's Office of the Municipality of Páez in the State of Portuguesa, Movimiento 23 BAUXILU, Federación Unitaria de Sindicatos Bolivarianos del Estado Carabobo (FUSBEC) and other trade union organisations such as the Comité Nacional de Conflicto de Trabajadores en Lucha (CNCTL), among others, whose plural convergence confirms that this agreement is neither partial nor sectoral, but rather a national benchmark of unity and commitment by the Venezuelan working class to defend wages, pensions, trade union freedom and labour rights.
