Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2025, Publicación: 114ª reunión CIT (2026)

Venezuela (República Bolivariana de)

Convenio sobre los trabajadores migrantes (revisado), 1949 (núm. 97) (Ratificación : 1983)
Convenio sobre los trabajadores migrantes (disposiciones complementarias), 1975 (núm. 143) (Ratificación : 1983)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of the ratified Conventions on migrant workers, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97), and the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143), in the same comment.

National migration policy

Article 1 of Convention No. 97. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that: (1) all the population are beneficiaries of the public policies set out in the Plan de la Patria (national plan), relating to social, economic and cultural matters, with the emphasis on targeted policies implemented by the Misiones y Grandes Misiones de tercera generación (third-generation missions and great missions), which seek to advance the development of the Venezuelan people; (2) from 1999 to 2019, the Venezuelan State granted Venezuelan nationality by naturalization to a total of 482,882 foreign men and women, who under the Constitution enjoy absolute equality in rights and duties compared to persons who are Venezuelan by birth; (3) between January 2023 and April 2024, the Identification, Migration, and Foreign Nationality Bureau (SAIME) granted resident status to 137 foreigners in the “permanent migrant” category. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the policies and actions adopted by the various government entities for the specific benefit of migrant workers, including the Plan de la Patria (national plan), and in particular on the specific impact on access to rights, social and labour integration, and regularization of the migration situation.

Support measures for migrant workers

Articles 2 and 7 of Convention No. 97. Services and assistance for migrant workers. The Government indicates that: (1) SAIME provides advice and assistance from its regional offices throughout the country to migrants who have permanent residence in Venezuela; (2) the Labour Migration Bureau, through the South American Conference on Migration (CSM) and the Social and Labour Integration Network, uses forums for dialogue and consultation to share good practices and experiences applied by the offices that cater for the migrant population in the social and labour sphere; and (3) during the 2018–23 period, the Bureau dealt with 1,101 enquiries about labour migration. The Committee requests the Government to: (i) continue providing information in this regard, particularly on any cooperation between the Labour Migration Bureau and the corresponding services of the other Member States; and (ii) provide details of the most frequent enquiries received by the Labour Migration Bureau.

Combating illegal employment of migrant workers

Article 2 of Convention No. 143. Migrations in abusive conditions. Systematic determination. The Government indicates that the integrated labour inspection and social security system has not detected any situations of workers subjected to abusive working conditions, or of migrant workers in an irregular situation in the period under review. The Committee observes that: (1) the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, in its concluding observations of 27 October 2022, welcomed the adoption of the “National Plan to combat trafficking in persons 2021–25” and the creation of the National Council on Trafficking in Persons to follow up, evaluate, implement and monitor the Plan, and also the creation of the Office of the Special Ombudsman for the Protection of Migrants, Refugees and Victims of Trafficking in Persons (CMW/C/VEN/CO/1, para. 6); (2) the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in its concluding observations of 31 May 2023, noted with concern that undocumented migrant women are exposed to a high risk of sexual exploitation, forced labour and recruitment by human trafficking networks (CEDAW/C/VEN/CO/9, para. 45); and (3) the 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons produced by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) concluded that in 2022 a total of 244 persons (five of Venezuelan nationality) were victims of trafficking, including 169 for sexual exploitation and 55 for forced labour. The Committee requests the Government to: (i) indicate whether any situations have been detected of undocumented migrant workers employed in and subjected to abusive working conditions and, if so, to indicate their numbers, their nationality and the work they perform; (ii) indicate whether migration movements for employment have been identified originating from or transiting through its territory in which migrants are subjected to abusive conditions in transit, on arrival or during their residence and employment; and (iii) provide information on the impact of the creation of the National Council on Trafficking in Persons and the results achieved by the National Plan 2021–25. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the manner in which employers’ and workers’ organizations are consulted or equipped to provide information available to them on situations of migration in abusive conditions.

International cooperation and exchange of information

Article 1 of Convention No. 97 and Article 4 of Convention No. 143. General agreements and special arrangements. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that in recent years various bilateral agreements have been signed with Latin American and other countries, aimed at facilitating the entry, residence and, where applicable, departure of persons involved in activities under technical cooperation and assistance agreements. In particular, the Government indicates that instruments have been signed with countries including China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico and the Russian Federation. The Committee also notes the Government’s reference to its participation in multilateral processes, such as the South American Conference on Migration (CSM). The Committee requests the Government to provide examples of relevant extracts from these agreements, in particular regarding access to employment and the working conditions of beneficiary migrant workers. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the number of persons who have emigrated from or entered the country as a result of the above-mentioned cooperation instruments.

National policy for the promotion of equal opportunities and treatment

Article 6 of Convention No. 97 and Articles 10 and 12(d) of Convention No. 143. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the National Constitution: (1) guarantees to all persons, in accordance with the principle of progressiveness and without any discrimination, the inalienable, indivisible and interdependent enjoyment and exercise of human rights (article 19); and (2) enshrines legal equality before the law, establishing the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, creed, social status or any other factor that generally has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on equal terms, of the rights and freedoms of every person (article 21). The Government also reports that: (1) the Basic Act on labour and men and women workers (LOTTT) prohibits any distinction, exclusion, preference or restriction regarding access to work and working conditions on the basis of nationality (section 18); and (2) the Foreigners and Migration Act establishes that foreigners in the territory of the Republic shall have the same rights as nationals, with no limitations other than those established in the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the legislation (section 13). However, the Committee observes that sections 27, 28, 29 and 231 of the LOTTT establish restrictions on the hiring of foreign workers which are not in conformity with the principle of equal opportunities and treatment enshrined in the Conventions, which points to a discrepancy between the provisions of the Constitution and those of the LOTTT. In light of the above, the Committee requests the Government to provide clarification on this discrepancy between the text of the Constitution and the above-mentioned sections of the LOTTT.

Collaboration of employers’ and workers’ organizations, and equal opportunities and treatment

Article 12 of Convention No. 143.The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the specific measures taken or envisaged in cooperation with the employers’ and workers’ organizations to implement the national policy of equal opportunities and treatment in employment and occupation.

Application in practice

Enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that in the 2018–23 period a total of 476 work permits were issued to female foreign workers and 2,618 to male foreign workers, while observing that the UN Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, in its concluding observations of 27 October 2022, recommended that the State should establish a national system that systematically, reliably and efficiently collects data on the situation of migrant workers in the country (CMW/C/VEN/CO/1, para. 22). The Committee requests the Government to: (i) provide statistical information, disaggregated by sex, country of origin and sector of activity, on migrant workers legally present and resident in its territory, and on Venezuelans who have emigrated abroad for work; (ii) indicate whether it plans to establish a national system for collecting data on labour migration; and (iii) provide information on the number and type of any violations found by labour inspectors and other competent authorities, and also on any penalties imposed for illegal hiring, migration in abusive conditions and human trafficking.