Trade unions of Chile: Neoliberalism multiplies poverty and inequality
August 31, 2007
«No to neoliberalism!» - was written on the posters carried by the demonstrators. «No to neoliberalism!» - they chanted in chorus. Among the demonstrators one could see state employees, workers of copper mines, doctors, teachers and students of colleges, workers of public transport, famous politicians and many others.
Unfortunately that rally did not turn out to be peaceful. The police used clubs, water guns and tear gas. Several hundred people have been arrested. Very famous and respected people – senator socialist Alejandro Navarro and poet, National prize laureate in literature Raul Zurita suffered from hands of carabineers.
Navarro who got a blow by a police club on the head, was taken to hospital. Later he told journalists that although the carabineer apologised and he accepted the apology, he would still demand an investigation as that fact demonstrated readiness to beat any citizen.
In the interview to TeleSur TV company Navarro explained that the march of protest was directed not so much against the government of Bachelet, but «against neoliberal of economy» that is being carried out in Chile for many years.
According to Navarro, during the years of democracy, a number of trade collective contracts kept on falling down from 10 to 6%, number of trade union organisations also got reduced from 16 to 10%. «It appears, says the senator socialist, that in the years of dictatorship there were more trade unions and collective contracts. These figures clearly prove that this democracy does not extend the rights of labour». Navarro stressed once again that the people demand changes of economic course, in carrying of which «to regret, Chile has been the leader in Latin America».
The president of Central Trade union federation Arturo Martinez addressed the meeting. First of all he criticised the city authorities that «restricted» the zone of march of protest: «We, citizens, have the right to go down to streets and nobody can point to us where to go and where to assemble!» «We have opened the road to democracy, we have opened the road to freedom and should not wait for permission of some commissary which streets can be occupied, we have gained that right by our struggle», said the Trade union leader.
Further Martinez spoke about main demands of Chilean labour: improvement of collective contracts that presently have got rather a light-weight shape, putting no obligations on employers, minimum wage increase, reform of pensionary system. Labour in Chile, he said, were tired of neoliberal economic policy that did not let them to improve their life, despite the economic growth that was marked in Chile for the last 20 years.
It is true, according to the Central bank of Chile, during the second trimester of 2007, 6.1% of economic growth was marked against the same period of the previous year.
On the eve of the march of protest the President of the country Michelle Bachelet assured that under her government the citizens had full rights to express their opinion and defend their rights. For 17 months of her presidency at least three powerful actions of social protest of students, state employees and workers of copper mines were held.