Zalaquett faces worker strike only three days after taking his position as mayor

SANTIAGO.- Just three days after mayor Pablo Zalaquett has taken his position as the new head of downtown Santiago, the official is facing a municipal worker strike.

"I don't think that this strike is right because the Municipality has a predisposition to pay, to look for a solution (…). It is a measure that is not ethical and not right", Zalaquett told Radio Cooperativa.

Municipal workers are complaining due to the fact that their 2007 salaries were amended after a calculation error was discovered. The workers have called off the strike for today, but have said that it may be re-instated depending on the solution that is offered by the new mayor.

"I cannot pay if I don't have an argument to justify it. This means that if the Municipal Legal Authority does not authorize the payment, I cannot do so either, since that would constitute non-compliance", stated Zalaquett.

Zalaquett plans to meet with the workers today to see if there is any legal way out that would allow him to pay the employees without becoming subject to legal sanctions. "I don't run my own business, these are public finances and it has to be subject to current laws and regulations", Zalaquett explained.