Chile Introduces New Rights for Farm Workers in Bid for US-Chile FTA

  
Chile has revised its labor laws, in line with ILO labor standards, to provide seasonal workers in fruit harvesting with new employment protection. A January 15 ceremony attended by the president of Chile, government officials, agricultural employers and workers marked passage of the new law. It represents a step in the gradual improvement of Pinochet-era labor legislation that, along with environmental concerns, has made many US labor and sustainable development organizations oppose a Free Trade Agreement with Chile. At the moment, the trade talks are at an impasse on a number of issues, including trade in agricultural goods and financial services.

The legislation covering seasonal agricultural workers is part of a sweeping labor law reform in Chile. Although passed by the current administration, debate on the issues began more than a decade ago. The new provisions bring Chile's laws into closer conformity with ILO conventions on freedom of association, collective bargaining and non-discrimination. The ILO provided information and technical assistance to the Chilean government as it implemented the reform process. In addition, ILO experts from Geneva on labor standards and labor law reform held seminars for government officials and employers' and workers' groups.

An estimated 400,000 rural workers, primarily women, are involved in the fruit harvest in Chile. The new provisions are designed to give them official employment status. They require enganchadores, or subcontractors, to register the names and places of employment of all the workers they recruit. They must also provide the workers with employment contracts, making them eligible for such protection as social security. Employers are required to cover food, lodging and transportation costs when work sites are not in or near urban areas.

Ricardo Solari, Chile's minister of labor, said at the January ceremony that the new law enables Chile to be "a country that is sound in all of its mechanisms, not just in its ability to grow, but also creating sound and modern labor institutions." He added that "everyone gains" from the measures: "the temporary workers, who obtain the right to contract with a company that will ensure their labor rights; the companies ... [which] will not run the risk of being responsible for actions they don't commit; and the agricultural contractors, who will be able to compete legally, without having their activities threatened by people who do not obey the law."

The new provisions also extend collective bargaining rights to this class of workers, who previously had been explicitly excluded from this fundamental labor right.

Among its other provisions, the law: reduces the work week from 48 to 45 hours, effective January 2005, and provides special protection for certain categories of workers, including food and commercial workers and dock workers; sets restrictions for employers on the use of overtime; requires companies with more than 10 employees to publish employee handbooks that respect fundamental workers' rights and Chilean law; provides new protection and recourse against unfair dismissals; offers new safeguards against anti-union activities; and recognizes the rights of several special categories of workers, including part-time staff, teleworkers and young adults (ages 18-24).

There has been no reaction as yet from critics of the Chile-US FTA, but since the new measures address only a small part of the controversy, they are not expected to make any dramatic improvement in the chances for agreement. However, Chile is sure to bring these changes into the campaign for getting a more favorable deal from the United States.