CUT Calls Kast’s Minimum Wage Adjustment Proposal a «Disgrace» as $7,546 Increase Falls Short

Original article: “Las 7 lucas no alcanzan”: CUT califica de “vergüenza” propuesta de Kast para reajustar sueldo mínimo

The Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) has labeled the proposed minimum wage adjustment of $7,546 presented by President José Kast as a «disgrace», which aims to raise the current base salary from $539,000 to approximately $546,000.

The labor coalition warned that «the 7 lucas are not enough», arguing that the increase suggested by the far-right leader does not address the rising cost of living and, in the long term, effectively decreases salaries.

Kast’s proposal is limited to a readjustment based on the accumulated variation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from January to March and has been presented through the Ministry of Finance to the Chamber of Deputies amid ongoing tensions with the CUT. After several meetings, no agreement was reached due to the substantial gap between the increase put forth by La Moneda and the multisectoral demand for a minimum wage of $637,000, necessary to recover the purchasing power of workers, adversely affected by rising gasoline prices, food costs, the UF (monetary unit), and general living expenses.

«Because the 7 lucas are not enough, the Government is making a proposal to the workers of our country that is insufficient. We believe that today the impact caused by the rise in fuel prices is not acknowledged in this increase being proposed by the government, which is why the CUT is mobilizing in various spaces,» stated David Acuña Millahueique, the Vice President of Communications for the union organization.

Additionally, national council member and head of the Banking Branch of the CUT, Roberto Grandon Schenk, mentioned that they approached the Labor Commission in the Chamber to await Minister of Labor Tomás Rau, «to express that these seven thousand pesos are an insult to Chilean workers.»

«Not only will there be no increase, but the entire working class will lose purchasing power, which will severely impact their families as well. It is outrageous for this proposal to suggest a mere seven thousand peso increase; while it reflects the CPI, tomorrow people will be poorer,» he voiced in a video shared by the multisectoral coalition on their social media.

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