JCV PRESS.- When commemorating this February, the truth is that, beyond the illusion of a «golden generation», it becomes increasingly evident that the situation of the youth does not escape the economic drama faced by the vast majority of Venezuelans.
Abandonment of studies, increasingly precarious jobs (more than one at the same time), and forced migration are the most likely scenarios at the moment for the children of the working class. According to the National Survey on Youth 2021, 51% of the more than five million Venezuelans who migrated in the last five years were between 15 and 29 years old.
In addition, since Nicolás Maduro assumed the presidency in 2013, the phenomenon of «double exclusion», that is, the exclusion of both studies and the labor market, has increased from 23% to 37% of the total number of young people.
The services sector continues to be the main source of employment for young people. These jobs are characterized by overexploitation, deregulation and absence of rights. But in addition, in terms of employment in the state sector, the policies implemented by the government of Nicolás Maduro obscure the prospects for the future. Tools such as the instruction of the National Budget Office (ONAPRE) on the remuneration of public administration employees, and Circular Memorandum 2792 of the Ministry of Labor, undermine constitutional labor benefits and collective conventions of workers without age discrimination.
Under this scheme, the country fails to offer job opportunities that aim to meet the life expectancy that our young people have. On the contrary, despite the government’s attempt to hide its scandalous salary policy through the monthly income bonus, in no case does the current employment situation satisfy the minimum conditions of existence. For this reason, it is of vital importance that young Venezuelans join the thousands of workers who are now on the streets to demand the indexation of wages and pensions to the basic basket, and so that once and for all, article 91 of the Constitutional is enforced: «Every worker has the right to a sufficient salary that allows him to live with dignity».
Tribuna Popular 