ANEF strikers occupy public buildings in Iquique

SANTIAGO.- Another day of demonstrations by the National Association of Public Employees (ANEF) began today with the takeover of a building that houses the Regional Government Office of Tarapacá and the Provincial Government Office of Iquique.

The president of the ANEF in the region, Macgdona Muñoz, announced the measures and stated that she had traveled from Iquique to Valparaíso to participate in today's demonstration after public sector employees failed to reach an agreement with the government on a 14.5% salary raise.

Although negotiations between the ANEF and the government have still not concluded and the most recent discussions have not yielded positive results, the Minister of Finance decided yesterday to go ahead and  send the bill proposing a mere 6.5% salary increase, which had been previously rejected by public sector leaders, to the Chamber of Deputies.

The proposal presented yesterday afternoon by the government was also rejected.  The offer proposed a stratified salary increase, which in the case of those earning the lowest salaries would have provided a 9% raise.