CMPC pulp and paper workers call for global agreement9 December, 2016The IndustriALL trade union network at CMPC met on 6-7 December in Concepción, Chile, and met company management to establish regional industrial relations.
Renault Chile workers in victorious 15-day strike21 December, 2017Workers at Cormecanica Renault Chile have won a major pay victory after a 15-day strike and other actions.
Strike in Chile calling for social change29 November, 2019In the midst of a social crisis and more than 40 days of protests, Chile held another general strike on 26 November. Protestors are calling for an increased minimum wage, better pensions and job protection, and guaranteed access to health care and education.
New national industrial union takes shape in Chile3 December, 2013At the eighth national conference of the Chilean metalworkers’ confederation (CONSTRAMET) on 21-23 November, delegates made progress in discussions on the organization of a new national industrial union. This was a significant step forward in the task of creating a union that will negotiate at sector level and cover all manufacturing and extractive industries where Industriall represents workers at the global level.
INTERVIEW: Chile: transforming the Labour Code18 May, 2015Determined, strong and with the courage of her convictions, Barbara Figueroa is a woman who doesn’t hesitate to say what she thinks. President of the Chilean trade union centre, the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Chile (CUT), she sees herself as “the leading spokesperson for the most important workers’ organization” in Chile.Increasing inequalities in pay, job security and social stability have led Michelle Bachelet’s government to send a bill to Congress to reform the Labour Code introduced under Pinochet’s dictatorship which ended in 1990. The new act aims to strengthen the collective rights of workers and promote a fairer system of labour relations. Figueroa is one of the main figures driving the change.
Chilean copper workers announce national strike 20 March, 2013The Federation of Copper Workers (FTC), affiliated to IndustriALL, has called a national strike at state-owned CODELCO in support of demands for job security, dignified pensions and renationalization of the copper mines.
Chilean public and private sector miners unite in national strike10 April, 2013The Federación de Trabajadores del Cobre (FTC) and the Federación Minera de Chile (FMC), which together represent more than 25,000 workers at the state-owned copper company CODELCO and private sector mining companies, held a national strike on Tuesday 9 April.
Chilean unions in pulp and paper sector achieve historic unity4 July, 2013At a meeting of the Mercosur Pulp & Paper project, held in Chile on 21-22 June, workers in the timber, paper and cellulose sector in Chile took an important step towards trade union unity by creating a new confederation, the Confederación de Trabajadores de la Madera, Papel, Celulosa y afines de Chile.
Warning strikes at BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto mine in Chile 25 September, 2014Workers at the Escondida mine and its port, Coloso, in Chile, went on strike at 8am on 22 September after members of Union Number 1 voted to stop work in response to the constant violations of Chilean law by the mine’s multinational owners, BHP Billiton and Río Tinto and the Chilean authorities’ failure to make the companies comply with the country’s legislation.
