Andrade returns to negotiations following harsh criticism from the ANEF

SANTIAGO.- After being absent for four days and following the beginning of a crisis in the public sector which has kept workers paralyzed since Monday, the Minister of Labor, Osvaldo Andrade, arrived back to Chile from Geneva, Switzerland, early this morning.

Andrade had left the country on Monday amidst negotiations with the public sector in order to attend the voting for the General Director of the International Labor Organization (ILO) –where Chilean Juan Somavía was re-elected— and is just now being reincorporated into conversations at Parliament.

Andrade's absence was harshly criticized by public sector organizations, who claimed that leader was uninterested in attending negotiations.

"(Andrade's absence) shows the amount of interest he has in public sector employees", stated the president of the National Association of Public Employees (ANEF), Raúl de la Puente.