FW: Hear Marcos Garcia from Venezuela this Thursday - REMINDER OF SOLIDARITY RECEPTION & EVENT: CELEBRATING VENEZUELA - ADVANCING SOCIAL PROGRESS & LABOUR RIGHTS DESPITE THE RIGHT-WING'S 'ECONOMIC WAR'

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Matthew Willgress

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Dec 10, 2014, 5:53:32 AM12/10/14

Dear Friend,

Please find below a reminder of full details of our event this Thursday.

VSC

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UPDATE:

In addition to the information in the invite and e-flyer below, we are delighted to announce that Gabriel Mocho Rodriguez, the Civil Aviation and Tourism Services Secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) will also be joining us at this event, explaining his work with trade unions in Venezuela.

Part of the work of the ITF in Latin America in the last decades has been to help the workers to recover the strength of their organisations that was dismantled during the years of neoliberalism, and Gabriel will also show a short video of this process, including interviews and clips with numerous leading 'Chavista' trade unionists.

In Venezuela and thanks to the Bolivarian Revolution transport workers have been able to organise themselves into several unions that are merging into the “Federación Bolivariana de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras del Transporte” where Gabriel and the ITF had a very relevant role, not only in the founding Congress shown but in the whole process. It has organised truckers, metro, aviation, logistics, railways and taxi workers, and was founded in 2012.

We hope to see you there for what promises to be an interesting event,

Venezuela Solidarity Campaign.

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INVITATION - SOLIDARITY RECEPTION & EVENT:

CELEBRATING VENEZUELA - ADVANCING SOCIAL PROGRESS & LABOUR RIGHTS DESPITE THE RIGHT-WING'S 'ECONOMIC WAR'
PUBLIC MEETING & BOOK LAUNCH (full details below)
Thursday December 11, 6.30pm (doors 6.10pm) at Unite the Union, 128 Theobalds Road, London, WC1X 8TN (nearest tube: Holborn)

You are personally invited to this event including publication launch and reception. To RSVP please email in...@venezuelasolidarity.co.uk

This event will see the public launch of the publication Bolivarian Venezuela: sustained progress for workers' rights booklet published by the Institute of Employment Rights. This provides an in-depth look of Venezuela's new Labour Law, which has been described as one of the most progressive of its kind in the world, enshrining trade union rights and freedoms, including the right to strike and collective bargaining, to an unprecedented degree. A summary of some further key points can be found below along with full details of the event. Its co-authors will be joined at the event by Marcos Garcia from Venezuela, now First Secretary at the Venezuelan Embassy and previously a transport workers' union leader in Caracas, who will give an update on current situation in Venezuela, including a report of the recent congress of its TUC equivalent.

The event will be at Unite House, 128 Theobalds Road, London, WC1X 8TN. The publication on the new Venezuelan labour law is sponsored by OH Parsons and Unite/GPM. It is published by the Institute of Employment Rights. To RSVP please email in...@venezuelasolidarity.co.uk

Best wishes,

Matt Willgress, VSC National Co-ordinator.

Appendix: Key Points of Venezuela's New Labour Law Examined in Bolivarian Venezuela: sustained progress for workers' rights

The new Venezuelan labour law (the LOTT) reflects a decade or more of social progress ushered in by the electoral victory of Hugo Chávez in the 1998
Although Venezuela was a signatory to ILO core conventions, under the old regime it was clear that labour rights were more honoured in the beach
Venezuela’s trade unions have been in a state of flux with the old unions widely acknowledged as being corrupt and even going as far as supporting a coup attempt against Chávez
The LOTT was drafted after extensive consultation with workers’ assemblies across the country
The new law guarantees both individual and collective rights
Access to the labour courts is free; a Labour Inspection Office is charged with upholding the rights of workers
Employment stability is deemed as pre-eminent, therefore the scope for dismissal is tightly prescribed
Work-life balance is recognised in the labour code
Minimum wages and premium for shift work are established by law but may be improved upon by collective bargaining, but such bargains may not settle for less than the legal minimum
The right to strike is guaranteed, all workers and union leaders are protected against any retaliatory action by employers during a strike; the right to take solidarity action is enshrined in law
Working time is covered by the LOTT including rest periods away from the job; holidays are specified and for workers in remote areas issues such as transport and housing are also cover by the legislation
Domestic workers - working in private residences - are covered and given the same status as other workers
Outsourcing, privatisation and bogus self-employment are outlawed by the LOTT
Equal opportunities – racial, gender, age, belief (religious or other), disability, nationality, sexual orientation – are covered in law, with a strong emphasis on the rights of nursing mothers
Lifelong learning is legally supported

CELEBRATING VENEZUELA - ADVANCING SOCIAL PROGRESS & LABOUR RIGHTS DESPITE THE RIGHT-WING'S 'ECONOMIC WAR' SOLIDARITY RECEPTION, EVENT & BOOK LAUNCH Thursday December 11, 6.30pm (doors 6.10pm) at Unite the Union, 128 Theobalds Road, London, WC1X 8TN (nearest tube: Holborn) . INCLUDING: discussion on the latest situation in Venezuela & Latin America with a special guest from Venezuela, Marcos Garcia. PLUS: public launch of publication with The Institute of Employment Rights Bolivarian Venezuela: Sustained Progress for Worker's Rights with authors Sian Errington (VSC/Women for Venezuela) & Dr. Francisco Dominguez (Head of Latin American Studies, Middlesex University.) WITH: exclusive video interviews with Venezuelan activists & a special UK video premiere of Jeremy Corbyn MP in conversation with President Nicolas Maduro, remembering & celebrating Tony Benn & Hugo Chavez. ALSO: Venezuelan rum tasters will be provided. FOLLOWED BY: VSC seasonal drinks nearby with special guests from Venezuela & Latin America.
For more information on the VSC see www.venezuelasolidarity.co.uk
RSVP & Invite friends on the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/611939235547212/
Organised by the VSC. To reserve a place email: in...@venezuelasolidarity.co.uk