News

On December 2, 2008, an Accord for Implementation of Social Dialogue in the Graphical Industry of Chile was signed in Santiago by the Labor Minister of Chile, Osvaldo Andrade Lara; the President of Asimpres, Carlos Aguirre Vargas; and the President of Conagra, Valentín Vega. Rubén Cortina, President of UNI-Americas, and Adriana Rosenzvaig, Head of the Graphical Sector, were also present at this historical event.



The Accord reaffirms the commitment taken on by UNI Graphical and Conlatingraf through the Buenos Aires Declaration (November 2005), the Guarujá Accord, and the Commitment to Decent Work.

Photo: The Labor Minister of Chile and the President of Asimpres with Valentin Vega from Conagra, Rubén Cortina, President of UNI-Americas, and Adriana Rosenzvaig, on behalf of UNI

“When the proposal to sign these agreements was raised in Conlatingraf, we had serious doubts about their feasibility,” said Carlos Aguirre Vargas (who is also President of Quebecor World in Chile). “However, as a result of these agreements, we started to know one another better and discuss common issues,” he added.



For a long time, the National Graphical Confederation of Chile (Conagra) and Asimpres had had a merely formal relationship, but under these agreements, they began to develop closer ties.



Over the last five years, Conagra has become stronger, adding more members and creating trade unions in major companies in the printing and packaging sector. The leaders of the Quebecor and Donnelley unions, among others, participate actively in the working groups on multinationals.



Valentín Vega, President of Conagra and Vice-president of UNI Graphical, expressed his satisfaction at the signing of this Accord: “This reaffirms our willingness to work together and to build a constructive dialogue.”



“The economy should benefit those who put a lot at stake by creating jobs and ensuring decent employment conditions. It is time to establish a social dialogue to put an end to the nightmare of crisis brought about by financial capitalism and go back to a culture of work and production,” noted Adriana Rosenzvaig during the ceremony.



Chile’s Labor Minister, Osvaldo Andrade Lara, underscored that when there is mutual recognition and respect between the parties, the culture of dialogue is possible. “If there is no culture of dialogue, relations become asymmetrical,” he said. “We are undergoing a process of change in which the value of ‘public’ is being reassessed and a different approach is being used to determine the rules that make the economy work,” he noted.

Photo: Representatives of Conagra, Asimpres and UNI-Americas with the Labor Minister of Chile

“We hope to be able to sign an Agreement like this one in the Commerce Sector and in many other sectors affiliated to UNI in the Americas. We are working strenuously to achieve that,” said Rubén Cortina at the closing of the event.



For more information, please write to marvin.largaespadag@uniglobalunion.org