Venezuelan teachers end school year amid wage disputes and workplace harassment

Teachers in Venezuela will finish the 2025‑26 academic year under the same precarious conditions they started with, reporting no updated collective bargaining agreement, no real salary increase and instances of labor harassment. Union leader Juan Tortolero, head of Sitraenseñanza, said the last collective agreement was signed eight years ago and the most recent basic salary hike occurred four years earlier. The May 1 bonus system, which the union calls a non‑salary bonus, has deepened the gap without changing the 2018 salary tables.

The union highlighted that only 17 clauses of the Third Unified Collective Convention have been approved after a five‑year delay, leaving the rest pending while the government has not reconvened negotiations. Thousands of teachers faced “modalidad” changes perceived as indirect dismissals, with salaries suspended despite being on protected medical, maternity or retirement leave. Sitraenseñanza intervened in many cases, but the process was slow. During a nationwide strike, teachers reported intimidation by directors and supervisors. The union’s demands for the 2026‑27 school year include a genuine wage increase, a return to the bargaining table and the proper holding of competitive exams for hiring and promotion.