Workers at the Chilean Port of San Antonio voted to resume their strike last night according to reports in the local press. Around 2,000 workers walked out at 2300, in spite of having previously agreed to end the stoppage after signing a new deal with the government in their long running labour dispute.
Raúl González, secretary of the San Antonio Port Workers’ Front, accused employer Puerto Central of failing to honour the agreement by changing the selection system for returning workers. In a letter signed with fellow union leaders Sergio Vargas and Raul Gaete, González demanded that port companies reinstate workers under the same conditions as before the strike.
Gónzalez warned that failure to honour the deal would result in a domino effect in industrial action, paralysing all of Chile’s ports.
Fruit exporter association Asoex said it was frustrated by the setback and called on the new government, which officially assumes power on 11 March, to adopt a more proactive approach to finding a lasting resolution to the dispute.
Asoex president Ronal Bown estimated that the fruit industry had lost in the region of US$200m as a result of the three-week strike, as well as suffering “immeasurable loss of credibility and overseas clients.”
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