(en) Chile, Solidaridad #26 - Neoliberal cycle and port modernization by Arturo Lopez (Part 1 + 2) (ca)

(en) Chile, Solidaridad #26 - Neoliberal cycle and port
modernization by Arturo Lopez (Part 1 + 2) (ca)[machine translation]

When starting the conflicting and rebellious 80s, a second wave of privatization, where 
was inaugurated Chicago Boys finally imposed their political hegemony and country project 
within the dictatorial ruling bloc. The famous constitutional organic laws were 
implemented; AFP, Isapres, the Mining Code, the Organic Law Education, etc. All private 
debt was transformed many entrepreneurs, arbitrarily, in public debt. To pay this debt the 
state resorted to the sale of many state enterprises, including the Chilean port company 
was. With this stage of reforms will "end" to formally implement structural adjustments 
demanded by the IMF and the World Bank, and thus are marked original lines of the current 
pattern of accumulation, as is supervised and restricted democracy of neoliberal Chile 
also is sealed current.

Move industries!

"Kicking stones", as would the legendary Prisoners were left thousands of Chileans to 
see how different public companies created in the early '50s (in order to promote the 
domestic market and had been a source of employment and income for many families), closed 
following the opening to world trade, which favored, and still favors the external 
consumption of goods.

In the late 70s, various economic groups committed to the dictatorship considered the 
national port operation scheme was in crisis. The liberalization of the economy had caused 
the expansion of Chilean trade. To "meet" these new requirements, the dictatorship enacted 
law No. 18,042, which restructured the existing national port system, ending with the 
"exclusive" operation of the National Port-EMPORCHI Company. In the early 60s, the 
executive, in order to modernize the productive apparatus of the state, created a series 
of autonomous state enterprises, among which EMPORCHI (under the Ministry of Public Works) 
was, which had as labor law and exclusive transfer, carrying, receipt and storage of 
cargo, and set tariffs for them.

Despite this first step, the state continued to maintain ownership of port infrastructure 
and management of ports, only now the internal services such as loading and unloading, 
cargo transfer, porterage and almacenaje- were made by private companies . Thus, all port 
operations were in private hands, which meant less revenue for the state: taxes which 
hitherto had to pay private eliminated, various public port guarantees (such as access to 
credit were excluded with state support , have come indefeasible, possibility of tax 
exemptions and payment of rent for domestic goods, and direct participation in port 
policies), thus ensuring a "free competition" between private and public. It also meant a 
complete change of the dependence of thousands of longshoremen, who from 1981 was 
inevitably linked to private companies, mostly under conditions of casual and temporary 
employment.

Agreed port modernization

During the 90s, under the transitional coalition governments (who was committed to the 
continuation of free market model), port and shipping business groups began to consider 
these changes to Dictatorship were not enough.

To finish what they considered "bottleneck" (which was EMPORCHI), and to incorporate more 
capital and private management to port public works, city government in 1997 -in 
democristiano- Law No. 19.542 was enacted Modernization of the State Port Sector, which 
included the formation of ten autonomous state enterprises. In 1998, as a "trial" were 
tendered the three main ports of Chile (San Antonio, Valparaíso, Talcahuano-San Vicente) 
and thus EMPORCHI history came to an end. That year, between January and October, the 
former state company disassociated port 1300 to a total workboats, who from that time 
began to be governed by the current Labour Code became dependent on various multi 
concessions or mono-operators in the autonomous ports of Chile.

Thus, the civil administration block deepened neoliberal transformations inaugurated by 
the dictatorship, opening a cycle of economic growth and political stability that 
exacerbated the unequal distribution of wealth, the exploitation of the workforce, the 
sale of our natural resources and structural unemployment. In this sense precarious work, 
poverty and disorganization of the workers, contrary to what is said, was and is a 
constituent of growth and institutional shielding of this tutelary democracy. All these 
elements are part of the very recent history of port marítimos- precincts across the country.

http://www.periodico-solidaridad.cl/2014/07/04/ciclo-neoliberal-y-modernizacion-portuaria-1a-parte/

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Part 2:

The reality of the port industry and the current situation of the workers

"The delivery of the national port heritage to transnational capital and exposure of 
workers to the deprotection (...) are two forms of unacceptable affront to the sovereignty 
of the country, port of Chile reject "

Dante Campana

The long process of concessions of different fronts dockage and wharfage ports of Chile 
ended at mid-90s, by tendering the main terminals of the central region. In this bidding, 
through the direct participation of private capital, the state sought to increase 
productivity and modernization. From the standpoint of public policy, this process was 
aimed at freeing the port sector of economic presence of the state, creating an incentive 
framework to act maritime port private companies (from now on MP), with a strong support 
and endorsement of the financial industry.

Indeed concessions produced a behavior port accelerated growth and thereby "benefits" for 
increasing foreign trade, especially for large holdings engaged. This is how 
public-licensed and private ports are positioned to date -within cargo movement in Latin 
America-, at the top, with a record 130 million tonnes of cargo annually. Of that total 
cargo turnover, 60% was contributed by 10 state ports concession (See "Solidarity" No. 
23), that only in the period from 1990 to 2012, more than four billion dollars! (See 
document: Maritime and Port Chamber of chile AG Yearbook 2013).

In conclusion, the development of markets for services contracted in the MP tasks, and 
technologies introduced to the world MP past 15 years have radically transformed the MP 
industry. Profound transformation that is now reflected not only in the high rates of 
return on market-related majors MP (American, overseas), but above all the social changes 
occurring in the world of MP workers; both in the labor market and in its port culture and 
its union.

It is this modernization and sustained increase in industry MP, who has needed marginalize 
the workers of the wealth produced to develop, negatively impacting the reality of dock 
work. By this we mean that while the industry was privatized during the decades of the 80s 
and 90s, historic achievements and benefits obtained after several days of struggle (See 
"Solidarity No. 23) were lost. While most were integrated complex new technology to 
market, more the workers are marginalized, the more increases the load transfer per hour, 
less staff needed, and despite the net gains obtained in wages in recent years, amount 
paid to workers mobilized per ton, gone the other way.

The characteristics of port employment and new organizations guild

Perhaps the central feature of the labor market MP, the situation of permanent instability 
of employment. The bulk of the workers linked to the MP activity does eventually and 
transient (an average of 75% of the total workforce) condition. This particular working 
conditions strongly influence the life of the port faenero. Indeed without this condition, 
it is difficult to understand the social imaginary installed on the identity of the 
dockworker. It is from this situation, which includes most of the MP workers, their 
demands, their culture, their progress in organization, increasingly small working women 
and union perspectives of a strip MP emerge, which Soon they have been positioning their 
voice, their methods and their just demands throughout the country.

Lawsuits and labor rights that are traceable in the recent history of their organizations. 
At the initiative of the Coordinator of Maritime Dockworkers of Chile, you can locate this 
endeavor of unity, that after 10 years of a long effort to build strength and 
organization, has been able to achieve at least two major national achievements. 
Achievements involving all workers MP Chile, but especially its submerged and precarious 
sectors: casual (hiring and firing daily).

The first of these partial conquests is concretized in the newly emerging "port short law" 
, from which it follows, inter alia; " the right to rest and collation, right to form 
joint committee (health and safety) on 22 September as Labor Day / a port / a, and the 
right to retroactive payment of the half-hour break and Collation ".

And the second conquest is the legitimacy that gives the struggle itself the right of 
workers to organize and fight as port and country level. This conquest of dignity and 
unity, manifested in the Port Union Chile has achieved both, positioning the organization 
by industry, moving, not without difficulty, to Cotraporchi bureaucratic, and secondly, to 
be a reference to the rest of the workers of Chile, and the whole popular movement.

Some milestones in this process:

Law 18.032 of 1981 that ended with the labor "monopoly" of dockworkers. Recall that could 
only work in port tasks who possess a license plate that was delivered in limited numbers 
and transformed their holders the absolute masters of work, a situation that led to the 
remembered "chickens" and "means chickens."

Law 18,042 of 1981 which removed the Port Companies of the State monopoly of all tasks 
from the side of the ship to stores and vice versa. This coupled with the above Act 
allowed the private sector to develop all the tasks from the hold of the ship to the 
warehouse.

Law 19.542 of 1997 establishing a subsidiary role of the state in building fronts 
docking and allows State Port Companies give concession to private management and overall 
operation of a berth condition that these make the investments necessary to build and / or 
process.

by Arturo Lopez

[Published in issue No 26 of solidarity]

http://www.periodico-solidaridad.cl/2015/01/05/2a-parte-la-realidad-de-la-industria-portuaria-y-el-momento-actual-de-las-y-los-trabajadores/