DHL’s rejection of two of the 31 points presented by the Sindicato No. 1, on settlement and salary readjustment, resulted in strike action by 101 workers which lasted for four days.
Eventually, thanks to the determination of the union’s leaders, the participation of the workers and the solidarity of the ITF and other trade union organisations in Chile, negotiations with the company were resumed for the remaining points over improving employees’ working and economic conditions. The talks concluded successfully on 30 September.
Pedro Jara, president of Sindicato No. 1, said: "We have achieved almost 100 percent of what we proposed. This was only possible with the participation and commitment of our members, the solidarity of our brothers and sisters from other unions in Chile, the ITF, and the arbitration of SEREMI (the regional labour ministerial secretary). It is a clear sign that DHL workers are not alone."
Antonio Rodriguez Fritz, head of ITF Americas, congratulated the Sindicato No. 1 on their win, and said it was evidence of the growing power of the solidarity network of unions representing DHL employees in Latin America, which had been key to mobilising support for the Chilean workers. He added that this successful demonstration of international and regional trade union unity should serve as a warning to DHL that it has to respect workers’ rights across all its Latin American operations.
