Chilean police crack down on Labor Day rally

[Catherina]

Chilean police crack down on Labor Day rally




01/05/13.- Chile's militarized police (Carabineros) suppressed a protesters march organized by the Confederation of Workers (CUT) in the framework of International Workers Day in the capital on Wednesday.

Telesur correspondent in Chile, Raul Martinez, said the police attacked the people who were at the demonstration with teargas and water cannons.

Martinez reported that the police tried to make selective checks of bags and people for no apparent reason, not based on any law, which outraged the demonstrators.

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Chilean workers are demanding labor improvements from the government of Sebastián Piñera, as well as more rigorous compliance with workplace safety standards in light of increasing accidents especially in the mining area.

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http://www.ciudadccs.info/?p=417688

They're also demanding an employer/worker funded public pension and justice for Juan Pablo Jimenez, a union leader who was assassinated in January after being too vocal about the Azeta Electrical company's anti-trade union practices. He was on his way to a labor hearing about their practices when he was shot.

[Judi Lynn]

1. Don't remember ANY union leaders being slain during Michelle Bachelet's time,

do you? We watched Chile from D.U.'s forums from the time she was sworn in as President.

Chile: Union leader shot dead, family accuses bosses
Thursday, April 11, 2013
By David T. Rowlands

Chile may have dispensed with military dictatorship, but agitating for workers’ rights can still get you assassinated.

Juan Pablo Jimenez, 35, was the president of the union representing workers at Azeta, one of Chile’s largest electrical engineering companies. On February 21, he was found dead in a pool of blood at his workplace, minutes after finishing a shift, a bullet lodged in his cranium.

The initial police report said it was a “bala loca” that killed Jimenez — a random stray bullet that supposedly made its way into Jimenez’s enclosed workshop.

This finding, deeply implausible to say the least, was immediately rejected as a cover-up by the dead unionist’s family. They accused a “mafia” connected with Azeta management of carrying out the killing.

Jimenez was a tireless advocate for workers’ rights and had recently been involved in documenting labour abuses at Azeta. He was shortly due to present his findings in a meeting with government officials. Jimenez was last seen sitting on a bench going over some important papers connected with the inquiry.

More:
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/53786