Strike ends for AquaChile

Kate Casey April 2, 2008 shall go down in history as the culmination of a pivotal worker’s union conflict that brought Chile’s salmon industry and its labour issues into the international limelight. In the union’s third General Assembly since February 8, this time workers unanimously voted in favour of accepting the last offer from their employer Aguas Claras, which was proposed over seven weeks ago. The conditions agreed upon between employer and union worker are: to increase the workers’ base salary of approximately USD 400 by 5.6%; to increase the production bonus, an average of USD 180, by 9%; to pay USD 560 as compensation for putting an end to the strike; and to assure legal coverage and protection for all workers during their hours of work, union or not. According to the Directive of Labour, had the union utilized campaign techniques similar to those seen in last two weeks of the strike (See 24.03.08 – Aguas Claras street protest), the conflict may have ended in less than half the time. As for the historical significance of the Aguas Claras strike, it is the first worker strike within the salmon industry that has organized so well and resisted for as long as it has.