Venezuela: Race Retail Pharmaceuticals de-recognises workers’ labour and trade union rights Share Tweet The executive committee of the Union of Retail Pharmaceutical Proletarians denounces to workers and to public opinion Drogueria Race, C.A; which refuses to recognise our trade union as a legitimate workers’ representative body. It thereby refuses to recognise our rights as workers, as laid down by the Fundamental Labour Law and in the Constitution of our Venezuelan Bolivarian Republic. We call upon national and international trades unions to send protest resolutions. ATTENTION ALL WORKERS! The executive committee of the Union of Retail Pharmaceutical Proletarians denounces to workers and to public opinion Drogueria Race, C.A; which refuses to recognise our trade union as a legitimate workers’ representative body. It thereby refuses to recognise our rights as workers, as laid down by the Fundamental Labour Law and in the Constitution of our Venezuelan Bolivarian Republic. Despite the fact that our trade union has a legal constitution and has the support of the majority of workers, the employers, far from granting recognition to our union and engaging in collective bargaining through which we could substantially improve our working conditions, have decided instead to pressurise, threaten and psychologically coerce workers into withdrawing support from our union, SUPROFARD. They have done this by introducing rules and regulations to continue attacking the workers, who are the ones who provide the profits for this company. They are doing so in order to try to demoralise the workers and to provide an excuse for illegal sackings, particularly of workers on a one-year contract who are members of our union. Furthermore, the company is strongly attempting to impose on us a dressed-up version of a company union, known as Unitrace. The decision about whether or not this union should be ‘legal’ is down to SOLICITOR DEBORA ESPINOZA, Chief Labour Inspector of the Capital District of Libertador Council. The company used its most trusted people to pressurise the workers and thereby achieve its foul objectives: to keep workers working on the most abysmal rates of pay and in conditions where they have no have no right to claim what is rightfully theirs. We send a warning to workers that if the Inspectorate legalizes Unitrace there will not be stable labour relationships, there will not be collective bargaining agreements, and that we will be at the mercy of the economic ‘realities’ of the company. We also denounce the anti-working-class manoeuvres of the company which tries to trick the workers into agreeing a joke of a contract in which the company promises absolutely nothing. This is illegal. We wrote our signatures to this effect in the union office on the 6th floor on 21st February at 3.55 p.m., and the office of Debora Espinoza denied on 24th February that it had been received and date-stamped by the Inspectorate. The Inspectorate should bring down all the weight of the law on this company, which is in breach of the ‘Solvencia Laboral’ (roughly translated, the Wages/Settlement Act), part of Decree 4248 of the Ministry of Labour, which decrees the employer must: (a) Vigorously respect the human and trade union rights of workers, which must include the fundamental right to enjoy contracts and agreements with the State. We therefore denounce the fact that Drogueria Race is not solvent and we call upon PDVSA not to buy any of its medical products because it is in violation of our basic rights as workers. Faced with this situation, we call upon the workers of Race to remain firm and not believe the false promises of the employers. They merely wish to prevent rightful collective bargaining and our day-to-day struggle to achieve better socio-economic conditions for ourselves and our families. Equally strongly, we declare that we will resist this situation. We will take drastic action to make our rights respected and will do so according to the Fundamental Labour Law and the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. We call upon national and international trades unions to send protest resolutions to the Ministry of Labour: despachoministerio@mintra.gov.ve. Please send copies to: keyujsr@yahoo.com coronilujsr@yahoo.com suprofard@hotmail.com suprofard@gmail.com We also call for financial assistance to allow us to respond to these attacks, and to assist Comrades Andry Key and Jhonny Coronil, who have been sacked from this company and have been without financial assistance for the past six months and one year, respectively, in order that they can continue the struggle. We know that this situation is not exclusive to this company and that other workers are having to endure the same, such as those in Sel-fex, and others. Many of us are fighting the same cause. It is for this reason we call for unity, just as the capitalists do when they want commodity prices lowered: they stick together and achieve their objective. “With unity, organisation, participation and awareness, we will succeed” Race Pharmaceuticals is in breach of Labour Laws No more abuse and disrespect Together we will see to it that our labour rights are respected MODEL RESOLUTION TO SEND TO THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR Los abajo firmantes, enterados de la situación que se vive en la empresa Droguería RACE, en la cual los trabajadores Andry Key y Jhonny Coronil fueron despedidos por organizar un sindicato (SUPROFARD) que además ha sido reconocido posteriormente por ese Ministerio llamamos al Ministerio de Trabajo a intervenir en este caso obligando a la empresa a que aplique de forma inmediata la orden de reenganche que ha sido emitida a favor de estos trabajadores. También demandamos que el sindicato patronal que intenta introducir el empresario para evitar la organización de este colectivo obrero no sea reconocido. VIVA LA REVOLUCION VIVA LA LUCHA DE LOS TRABAJADORES NO AL SABOTEO DE LOS EMPRESARIOS Y LOS ATAQUES CONTRA LOS DERECHOS DE LOS TRABAJADORES Firmados ………. English translation: We, the undersigned, express our concerns over the situation in the company Drogueria RACE, which has sacked two workers, Andry Key and Jhonny Coronil, for organising the SUPROFARD trade union. This trade union was subsequently recognised by the Ministry of Labour. We call upon the Ministry to intervene in this case and to instruct the company to comply immediately with the directive imposed on it reinstate these workers. We also demand that the Ministry refuse to recognise the ‘company’ union which the firm is trying to introduce in order to impede these workers’ rights to organise collectively. LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION! LONG LIVE WORKERS’ STRUGGLE! NO TO THE BOSSES’ SABOTAGE AND ATTACKS ON WORKERS’ RIGHTS! Signed ……….. Please send to despachoministerio@mintra.gov.ve Please also send copies to the workers at: keyujsr@yahoo.com coronilujst@yahoo.com suprofard@hotmail.com suprofard@gmail.com We also appeal for funds to allow us to continue organising against the attacks and to provide financial assistance for Comrades Andry Key and Jhonny Coronil, sacked and without financial support for a year and six months, respectively. Both have the support of the Providencia Administrative but nonetheless the company has refused to reinstate them. “With unity, organisation, participation and awareness, we will succeed” Race Pharmaceuticals is in breach of Labour Laws No more abuse and disrespect Together we will see to it that our labour rights are respected From the Executive Committee, Suprofard MODEL MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY TO THE WORKERS OF RACE Please also send the following solidarity message to the workers: Los abajo firmantes, enterados a través de la petición de solidaridad que nos han hecho llegar los camaradas de la Corriente Marxista Revolucionaria (CMR) de Venezuela, de la situación de los trabajadores de Droguería Race nos hemos dirigido al Ministerio de Trabajo demandándole su intervención en defensa del sindicato SUPROFARD. Queremos hacerles llegar a ustedes todo nuestro apoyo y solidaridad y nos ponemos a su disposición para lo que necesiten. ANIMO Y ADELANTE, CAMARADAS LA LUCHA REVOLUCIONARIA DE LOS TRABAJADORES NO TIENE FRONTERAS Firmado, English translation: We, the undersigned, having been made aware of the predicament of the workers of Drogueria Race through the solidarity campaign of the comrades of the Revolutionary Marxist Current (CMR), have written to the Ministry of Labour demanding its intervention in defence of the trade union SUPORFARD. We send you a message of strongest support and solidarity, and place ourselves at your disposal to help in whatever way you see fit. COURAGE, COMRADES! FORWARD TO VICTORY! THE WORKERS’ STRUGGLE KNOWS NO NATIONAL BOUNDARIES
