Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (Ratification: 1983)

1. Article 1 of the Convention. Information on national policies, laws and regulations and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that its migration policy is based on the following elements: non-discrimination between races, sexes, creeds and nationalities; respect for diversity; responding to the unsatisfied national demand for labour in the socio-productive process; migration towards priority national development areas; full respect for the human rights of the migrant worker and those of his family; and compliance with the international instruments signed and ratified by the Republic. The Committee also notes the promulgation of the Foreigners and Migration Act of 24 May 2004, and the Regulations on the Regularization and Naturalization of Foreigners in National Territory, dated 3 February 2004. The Act reflects the increased and more specific effort made by the Government to unify policies in this area, while the Regulations have helped to regularize the situation of a number of workers. The Committee also notes that a National Migration Commission has been set up under Title VI of the Immigration Act. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the implementation of its migration policy and of the Foreigners  and Migration Act and the Regulations on the Regularization and Naturalization of Foreigners in practice, as well as on the specific activities carried out by the National Migration Commission to promote the objectives and application of the Convention.

2. General agreements and special arrangements. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that economic and political integration agreements are in place which facilitate immigration and increase the flexibility of requirements for the employment of workers from Latin American countries and the Caribbean. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the text of these agreements and on their application in practice. Noting the withdrawal of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela from the Andean Community of Nations, the Committee would like to receive information on the current treatment and conditions of migrant workers from countries belonging to the Community who settle in the country.

3. Articles 2 and 7. Services and assistance for migrant workers. The Committee notes the Organic Act on the employment services system of 30 December 2002, section 17 of which establishes the Labour Migration Service aimed at “channelling the requests for foreign migrant workers made by employers in the public or private sector with a view to authorizing their admission into the labour market, so as to cover the unsatisfied demand for skilled labour in the country’s priority development areas”. The Committee asks the Government to provide more detailed information on the specific activities of the Labour Migration Service.   It also asks the Government to indicate any measures taken or envisaged in cooperation between the Labour Migration Service and equivalent services of a similar nature found in other member States bound by the Convention.

4. Article 6. Equality of treatment. The Committee notes section 18 of the Organic Act on the employment services system, 2002, which sets forth the obligation of migrants to provide training to local workers. It should be recalled that in order for this provision to be consistent with Article 6 of the Convention, it must not contain any measures implying less favourable treatment than that applied to national workers, including in respect of conditions of work. The Committee therefore asks the Government to indicate whether migrant workers enjoy the same rights in respect of training as national workers. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would provide information on the implementation of its policy on equality of treatment between nationals and migrant workers in respect of the matters listed in Article 6, paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d), of the Convention.

5. Statistical information. The Committee notes the information provided in the Government’s report concerning a study which is currently being prepared on the characteristics of the migrant worker population in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The Committee also notes section 27 of the Foreigners and Migration Act which provides that the ministry responsible for immigration and migration, in the performance of its monitoring duties, shall ensure that the statistical information on migrant workers is kept updated. The Committee hopes that this study will take into account issues relating to gender equality and the feminization of the migratory trend and would be grateful if the Government would provide information on this study once it is completed. The Committee would also like to receive statistical information, disaggregated by sex, place of origin and sector of employment, in respect of the migrant workers residing in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Venezuelan nationals residing abroad.

6. Annexes I and II. The Committee regrets not having received concrete information on the measures adopted or envisaged to regulate the activities of private agencies or to encourage self-regulation in order to protect migrant workers from any abuse, or on the penalties imposed for infringements, particularly with regard to misleading advertising. The Committee therefore reiterates its previous request to the Government to provide detailed information in respect of Annexes I and II of the Convention on the proliferation of private agencies.