The protection of fundamental rights at work : a study of Venezuela and the Andean Community

The adoption of a new constitution, the changes in legislation, and the well-known shift in policies and State practices introduced by the Chavez administration, are some of the factors that persuaded me to examine not only the legal protection but the actual exercise of internationally recognized core labour standards in Venezuela, notably freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of forced labour, the abolition of child labour and the elimination of discrimination at work.Given the structure and nature of the ILO, its mechanisms of enforcement are limited. Despite the successful ILO objective of promoting compliance with workers' rights, certain Member States like the Government of Venezuela, continue to violate labour rights. This situation requires the search for alternatives.The idea that inspired this paper was an attempt to look for alternatives in regionalism. The hypothesis is that a sub-regional approach through the Andean Community, comprising Andean countries, offers a more effective means to protect labour rights in Venezuela than an international approach through the ILO. However, the solution points more to a joint international-regional approach to better ensure workers' rights in Venezuela and the Andean region