Latest News:  

English>>World

Nationwide strike staged in Chile over working conditions, tax reform

(Xinhua)

10:43, July 12, 2013

SANTIAGO, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Chile's major labor union on Thursday organized a 24-hour nationwide strike, demanding better working conditions and tax reform.

Earlier in the day, protesters erected barricades along certain thoroughfares in the capital of Santiago, blocking morning traffic and cutting roads to state-run mines. Public sectors, including healthcare and copper mining, came to a standstill.

By midday, labor unions have massed along the main avenues of major Chilean cities. Thursday's protest was one of the largest in years in the Andean country.

The Central Union of Workers (CUT) organized the strike pressing for a rise in the minimum wage, reforms in the labor law as well as pension plan, and increased taxation of major companies to finance public services, such as education and healthcare.

Barbara Figueroa, president of the CUT, said that some 200,000 people took to the streets in Santiago, and another 300,000 marched in cities around the country, including workers and students.

"Today we say enough, stop the abuse, stop the inequality, we are standing up to fight for our demands in conjunction with other sectors of the society," Figueroa told reporters after the protests.

However, the Chilean government downplayed the protests, saying that only a small part of workers have participated. Santiago city officials estimated that the number of protesters in the Chilean capital was about 30,000.

Interior Minister Andres Chadwick said only 5.8 percent of public-sector workers took part in the strike.

"Public services worked well throughout the country and no disruptions have occurred in public administration," Chadwick said.

We Recommend:

U.S. presidents and their pets

Highlights of 50th Int'l Paris Air Show

Best photos of week (June 17 - June 23)

Venezuelan Army School boat visits Cuba

Afghan refugees at UNHCR registration center

Beauty contest held in Budapest, Hungary

Angelina Jolie visits refugee camp

'Super moon' hangs in the sky over Rotterdam

LA' Chinatown sets up statue of Bruce Lee

Email|Print|Comments(Editor:YaoChun、Liang Jun)

Related Reading

Leave your comment0 comments

  1. Name

  

Selections for you


  1. Chinese, Russian naval forces in drill

  2. Naval joint exercise to be normalized

  3. Muslims buy food to break daytime fast

  4. Working people under the sweltering sun

  5. Lonely summer for migrant kids

  6. Rainstorms flood more than 10,000 cars

  7. Shining WTCC grid girls

  8. Snapshots of Kazan Universiade

  9. China Pan-Asia Stone Expo kicks off

  10. China's 50 best CEOs named

Most Popular

Opinions

  1. China's automobile organization slams car limits
  2. Shortage of teachers hurts kindergartens
  3. Building on past successes
  4. Inflow of 'hot money' tackled, expert says
  5. Caution urged in seeking experts from abroad
  6. China didn't cause German solar firms' bankruptcy
  7. China, U.S. discuss cyber security
  8. Why are we obsessed with selfies?
  9. Israel keen on luring Chinese tourists
  10. 'Bernanke shock' necessary

What’s happening in China

China's Chongqing issues orange-coded alert of heat

  1. Books on dating become a hit 24 years later
  2. Now a smartphone app for free contraceptives
  3. Gang rape suspect gets new lawyers
  4. Life expectancy for Beijing residents increases
  5. Tourists cool off on beach in Shanghai