Guayana workers complete 90 hours on hunger strike over profit-sharing bonus

A retiree and two workers completed 90 hours on a hunger strike to demand payment of a $1,200 compensatory bonus in lieu of profit-sharing, according to El Pitazo, which reported it on October 28, 2026. The protest seeks to benefit some 80,000 workers in the basic industries of the Guayana region, in Bolívar state.

The labor dispute reflects the deep erosion of purchasing power facing Venezuelan workers amid inflation and the rising cost of living. Pay in the public sector and state-owned companies has been pulverized in recent years, forcing employees to resort to extreme pressure tactics such as hunger strikes to demand income sufficient to cover basic needs.

The wage demands unfold against a backdrop of intense union tension. According to Crónica Uno, several independent trade union confederations have denounced that the so-called Labor Consensus Table functions as a forum that excludes most of the labor movement and seeks to legitimize precarious work and the elimination of benefits enshrined in law.

To gauge the impact of these amounts on everyday economic life, the official reference rate set by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) stands at 888.89 bolívares per dollar and 989.39 bolívares per euro for October 29, 2026. However, the Venezuelan economy operates this official rate alongside a parallel market, which limits workers' real purchasing power against dollarized prices of goods and services.