Walmart unions reach agreement in Chile and deepen unity in action
The Walmart Unions meeting was held on November 23rd at ILO offices in Santiago, Chile, with major progress for the sector, achieving an agreement and strengthening the bonds of all the organisations representing Walmart workers in Chile.
The meeting aimed to select common candidates to represent them in the bipartite training committee and reach a consensus and a commitment to establish the action plan against the difficulties faced by all the organisations alike.
After long discussions between SIL -Sindicato Interempresa Líder Walmart-, the Federación Walmart, the Federación Centro Sur, the Federación Nacional Walmart y Retail, the Federación Autónoma, Federación Nacional de Trabajadores Líder and Sindicatos de Jefes, with the participation of the presidents of each organisation, the following agreements were reached:
Two brothers were chosen from SIL and the Walmart Federation as representatives of all the workers grouped in these seven organisations. They will represent the workers before the company in the bipartite training committee.
A Permanent Advisory Council was also established with five elected members from the other organizations, whose main task will be to advise and agree with the bipartite committee on the opinion of the workers regarding training. Similarly, if other unions are included in the future, they may nominate a union leader in this Advisory Council.
On the other hand, a meeting will be requested with Walmart, with the presence of all the presidents of the organisations and two representatives of the bipartite training committee and the five members of the Advisory Council. Claudio Aravena, UNI Americas Regional Coordinator in Chile will participate in the meeting on behalf of UNI Americas.
Likewise, the meeting for next December 4th was approved, with the priority to set the common agenda to be fostered and developed together by the seven organisations representing more than 35,000 Walmart workers in Chile.
UNI Americas congratulates the seven unions for this great agreement that will be visible through common decisions with the company. This strengthens the unity of the unions in the sector and directly benefits all the workers.