Teacher unions in Colombia and Venezuela call for national protests

Teacher unions in Colombia and Venezuela have announced large-scale national mobilizations to protest labor conditions and defend public education.

In Colombia, the Colombian Federation of Education Workers (Fecode) has called for a national mobilization on October 14. The union is demanding the protection of public, secular, and state-funded education, opposing legislative projects that they claim would transfer public administration to the private sector. Additional demands include addressing health service crises for educators, resolving social benefit payment arrears, and ensuring the reconstruction of schools damaged by recent seismic activity.

In Venezuela, the Venezuelan Teachers Federation (FVM) and other signatory federations have organized a national protest for September 24 across all 24 states. The demonstrators are calling for dignified salaries, the fulfillment of collective bargaining agreements, and respect for constitutional rights. The unions emphasized their intent to exercise their right to peaceful assembly and collective negotiation to address long-standing labor grievances.