Unions fear merger may lead to job losses

Christian Pérez After both companies announced their intentions to merge, concerns arose among union bodies regarding the sources of employment for the 6,000+ workers of the potential combined company in Chile, according to the local newspaper El Llanquihue. The president of the Union of Workers of Marine Harvest, Javier Ugarte, said that he has not been officially informed about the merger. “I have not received any information from the general manager or the HR manager yet,” he said. He acknowledged that this announcement poses some concerns. “One gets nervous, because mergers have consequences, such as dismissal of people. I do not know if it will be for AquaChile or Marine Harvest,” he said. However, Ugarte also explained that, despite the unease, “we must not rush to draw final conclusions about layoffs. This is a long process that wont be finalized until the year 2017”. In turn, the president of the Federation of Salmon, Commerce and Transportation, Carlos Levicoy, acknowledged fear of layoffs, due to what he described as high subcontracting and little unionization. He also stressed that this merger might benefit workers if working conditions are improved, and whether the possibility of organizing exists.

“We will discuss topics of interest with company representatives,” he said.