The National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) of Venezuela denounced this Monday, on the occasion of the celebration of Journalist’s Day in the country, that the limitations in access to information that these Venezuelan professionals have are the main obstacle to the exercise of his work.”
In (the) 66.67% of the states of Venezuela (16), access to information appears as the main problem faced by social communicators, as they do not have primary and official sources and, in addition, have closed doors in public institutions that respond to orders from the State,” the SNTP detailed in a statement.
The SNTP explained that, in second place, are the low salaries received by social communicators, a category that is presented as an outstanding obstacle in 54.17% (13) of the regions. According to the union, low salaries represent one of the the main challenges in professional practice, since “press workers face working days of more than 12 hours, night shifts and weekends for salaries that range from the minimum established by the National Executive (around 29 dollars ) and the $200.”
“Added to this is the disappearance of sources of work, which was reflected as a difficulty faced by the press in 45.83% of the states of Venezuela (11) due to the closure of media outlets, the decrease in their payrolls due to lack of resources and the disappearance of information platforms that are closed as a result of censorship measures by the State”, assured the SNTP. In addition, it referred that censorship and the risks they run during their work continue to be difficulties for reporters, because they are attacked and intimidated by state agents and civil society.
«Journalists express their concern regarding the lack of protection and insecurity in which they feel and which represents a primary difficulty in 41.67% of the states of Venezuela. In this same percentage, the lack of connectivity appeared due to failures in electricity and internet services », he pointed out. EFE
