Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2024, publiée 113ème session CIT (2025)

Convention (n° 156) sur les travailleurs ayant des responsabilités familiales, 1981 - Venezuela (République bolivarienne du) (Ratification: 1984)

Article 3 of the Convention. National policy. The Committee notes that in its report, the Government indicates in very general terms that various measures have been adopted to give effect to section 331 of the Basic Act on Labour, Male and Female Workers (LOTTT), including the establishment of crèches in workplaces, the payment of bonuses or additional benefits to fathers and mothers, the implementation of maternity leave and job flexibility for working mothers and the promotion of work-life balance programmes. The Committee requests the Government to provide more specific information on the measures adopted (for example, the number of crèches established or bonuses granted) and the impact on the distribution of family responsibilities between men and women and the performance of men and women workers with such responsibilities in employment and occupation (for example, by providing information on the employment rates of men and women with family responsibilities).

Article 4(b). Terms and conditions of employment. The Committee notes that the Government provides information on the legal framework relating to paternity leave (section 339 of the LOTTT and section 9 of the 2007 Act on the Protection of Families, Maternity and Paternity (LPMP)). The Government also provides information on the eligibility requirements for paternity leave, and indicates that the employer must ensure that the leave is paid in accordance with the law. The Committee notes that, in accordance with section 9 of the LPMP, paternity leave cannot be waived and is funded from the social security system. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on any other measures adopted or envisaged to take into account the needs of workers with family responsibilities with regard to terms and conditions of employment and social security (for example, measures relating to flexible working hours with a view to promoting better work-life balance).

Article 5. Services and facilities for the care of children and other family members. With regard to the specialized care programmes provided for under section 348 of the LOTTT, the Government indicates that under the National System of Missions and Great Missions, the total number of Socialist Mission Bases reached 2,360 in 2023, including missions for education, for work, for public health and social protection, assistance and solidarity. With regard to the obligation of employers with more than 20 workers to establish initial education centres (section 343 of the LOTTT), the Government indicates that the inspection units of the People’s Ministry for the Social Process of Labour verify that this obligation is fulfilled, whether by the establishment of such centres or by payment of the enrolment and monthly fees of the worker’s child to an external centre. In this respect, the Government indicates that between 2021 and the first semester of 2024, corrective measures were ordered at 452 workplaces and disciplinary proceedings were initiated in 110 of those cases for persistent failure to comply with this obligation. With regard to the obligation of certain employers located more than 100 kilometres from a city to establish education centres (section 161 of the LOTTT), the Government indicates that education centres have been established at all levels in every municipality throughout the country and that, in this context, no failure to comply with this provision has been detected nor has any report been received. The Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on the measures adopted within the framework of the Socialist Missions to develop services for the care of children and other family members of men and women workers with family responsibilities.

Article 8. Protection against dismissal. In reply to the previous comment, the Government indicates that under section 94 of the LOTTT (which establishes the security of tenure of a pregnant woman and for two years after the birth, of a father from the pregnancy of the mother and for two years after the birth, of workers who adopt children under the age of three years for two years after the date of adoption, and of workers with children with disabilities or illness), men and women workers protected by security of tenure may not be dismissed, transferred or demoted without justified grounds, which must be qualified by the Labour Inspectorate and may also have recourse to the courts. The Government further explains that section 534 of the LOTTT establishes a penalty of between 120 and 360 tax units for violations of the protective provisions relating to maternity, paternity and the family. The Government specifies that in 2023, 40,330 decisions were handed down in administrative and judicial bodies relating to dismissals of workers with family responsibilities, and in the first quarter of 2024, 16,540 decisions were handed down to guarantee the rights of workers with family responsibilities. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of administrative or judicial decisions in cases of dismissal of workers with family responsibilities, including the outcome and the penalties imposed.