Valparaíso Dockworkers Union Protests: Accuses Report/TPV of Zero Progress on Workers’ Rights

The Valparaíso Dockworkers’ Union mounted a forceful demonstration on Wednesday, October 1, protesting what it describes as “zero progress on rights and benefits” in negotiations with employer Report/TPV (Grupo Agunsa), the company operating the concession for Terminal 2 of the port.

The union said that October 1 marks the expiration of the “job placement agreement” it signed with the company. “Our platform calls for job stability, health benefits, and compliance with DS 594 workplace safety standards, among other points,” they stated in a release.

“As a dockworkers’ union, we are signatories to the Acuerdo por Valparaíso—a pact with the mayor’s office, the regional government, and the Port Authority (EPV) to foster port development and expansion. We now question the willingness of port companies to advance modernization alongside workers when we see no progress on rights and benefits from the company in this negotiation,” the union said.

They continued: “Seven years after the 2018 strike in Valparaíso, there is still no Port Labor Reform guaranteeing minimum rights such as paid vacation, severance for years of service, and pre- and postnatal leave. This government committed—through its labor minister—to deliver a new port labor law, yet to date we see no progress, and it seems the pattern of previous administrations persists: no advancement for port workers.”

Addressing the demonstrations and the traffic disruptions they caused in the city, workers acknowledged that “our demands and protests may inconvenience residents, but everyone should have the same right and opportunity to stand up for their jobs. Teachers have their pay docked after mobilizations and it is treated as normal; thousands of unions in Chile are steamrolled by their companies—people are fired and wages are cut—and nobody does anything.”

“We affirm our right to protest and to defend our rights both in the streets and at the bargaining table. And we expect the government to present a sectoral bargaining bill so that workers across the country can advance their rights,” concluded the Valparaíso Dockworkers’ Union.

We will continue to report.