Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (Ratification: 1983)

Article 2, paragraph 2(b) and Article 5(2) of the Convention. Determination of conditions of employment by negotiation between employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned. The Committee understands that a new collective agreement applicable to public health workers, including nursing personnel, was signed in August 2013. However, the Committee notes that the Office has not received a copy of this collective agreement. The Committee therefore requests the Government to supply a copy of the collective agreement currently in force for nursing personnel.

Article 4. Legislation concerning the requirements for the provision of nursing care and nursing services. The Committee recalls that the Act concerning the provision of professional nursing care (Official Gazette No. 38263 of 1 September 2005) mentions implementing regulations and, in section 22, regulations relating to the minimum remuneration received by nursing personnel in the private sector. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether these regulations have been adopted and, if so, to provide copies.

Article 7. Occupational safety and health. The Committee notes the comments by the Confederation of Workers of Venezuela (CTV) received on 30 August 2013 and forwarded to the Government on 16 September 2013. In expressing its deep concern, the CTV indicates that working conditions of nursing personnel have deteriorated in the same way as the whole infrastructure of the public health system in the country, in particular in large urban hospitals. The CTV also specifies that maternity units, hospitals for children and working conditions of their personnel have deteriorated significantly. Murders, harassment and dismissals on the grounds of protests have been registered among nursing personnel and in the emergency services, which are regularly victims of crime and violence. The Committee requests the Government to forward any comments it wishes to make in response to the observations of the CTV.