LatinNews Daily Report - 20 November 2013

ECONOMY | Deal reached with municipal workers. On 19 November the government of President Sebastián Piñera announced a deal to end the strikes of municipal sector workers’ unions that have been ongoing since 21 October. Led by the Asociación de Empleados Municipales de Chile (Asemuch), the unions took the action over pay-related demands. Asemuch wants the base salary for municipal workers to be brought in line with that of other public sector workers. Yesterday Interior Minister Andrés Chadwick told reporters that the new deal provides for a 25% pay rise for municipal workers by year-end 2013, increasing by a further 50% in 2014 by a full 100% in 2015. The government has yet to reach an agreement with the main workers’ union confederation, Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT), which has held two 48-hour strikes in the last two weeks. The CUT is calling for an 8.8% general salary increase and a 10% increase for workers earning less than C$750,000(US$1,437) a month. Yesterday the government offered an increase of just 4%.