El Ciudadano
Original article: “Somos capaces de resistir en la calle”: CONFUSAM enfrenta la tijera de Kast y la «brutal represión» policial
«We are capable of resisting in the streets,» is the clear message from members of the National Confederation of Municipal Health Workers (Confusam) to the government of José Antonio Kast, following the «brutal repression» they experienced during a protest against the budget cuts that threaten to undermine Primary Health Care.
Union representatives, representing over 70,000 workers, arrived at the Presidential Palace to deliver a letter to the far-right leader, warning about the consequences of the announced $2.8 trillion public spending cuts initiated by his administration.
The document, supported by over 600 leaders nationwide, highlighted the freezing of the baseline per capita funding for a second consecutive year and the uncertainty surrounding the continuation of around 40 health programs.
«We must inform our people about what this 0.5% cut, equating to $18 billion,means. Over four years, that is $2.8 trillion for public health, representing a 40% reduction in primary care. What do we expect? That mayors begin to impose 48 letters as we are currently seeing in some areas, where they start to cut staffing due to lack of resources,» stated Confusam’s national president, Gabriela Flores Salgado, during the protest.
She criticized the Kast government for rejecting dialogue and ignoring labor organizations, insisting only on imposing measures by decree that harm public service, to which she urged officials to «not lower their hands.»
The union demands that La Moneda halt budget cuts, provide guarantees regarding the continuity of health programs, rectify the frozen per capita funding, and solve the existing debts of the state with the municipalities regarding this matter.
«Today we faced repression merely for calling for an end to these cuts and because our salaries still haven’t received the meager adjustment achieved last year. There are more than $21.8 billion that the government has not transferred to Chilean municipalities» for our wages to be received as due,» Flores denounced.
She emphasized that the mobilization aimed to «raise awareness about the impacts of the 0.5% cut» and expose the effects of bureaucracy. «The government has yet to transfer funds for improving municipal resources,» she pointed out.
«We don’t even have the 40-hour workweek because of an error from the previous government. What would happen if this government aims to change our statutes and adjusts our working hours upwards? Do they plan to eliminate indemnities, comrades? We have a retirement incentive, which today we are unsure will continue, even if it has been made permanent,» she warned the officials.
The Confederation also raised alarms about the serious crisis affecting primary health care in the country, thus extending a call to Kast and Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz urging the transfer of resources to all municipalities.
«We’re regressing; the dismantling of primary care is happening at an alarming pace,» asserted the guild president.
Brutal Police Repression
The protest, initially called to deliver the letter to the president and conducted peacefully, was repressed by police forces using water cannons to disperse Confusam members, resulting in several arrests.
«We have been brutally repressed by the Carabineros. We have been soaked, gassed. We had health workers here, just health workers. We would not cause any harm. We have 11 male and one female colleague detained. Why? We are merely workers protesting to demand decent funding for health services, which serve 80% of the population,» denounced Confusam national leader Laura San Martín.
“We are Capable of Resisting in the Streets”
Following the repression, Gabriela Flores indicated that this Thursday the National Assembly will decide on the actions to take regarding budget negotiations and the crisis in primary care, emphasizing that they will continue to defend their rights and confront the cuts from the Kast government.
«Let’s not lower our hands, comrades, tomorrow we will decide, but we will approach this responsibility seriously,» she stated, underscoring that «unity is the only thing that will allow us to assert ourselves as a national organization.»
«Let us all unite for the organization, not for the directory, but for the organization itself. This is important, and I reiterate, tomorrow we need to establish a mobilization calendar. Today we have shown the government that we are capable of resisting in the streets, comrades,» asserted the national president of Confusam.
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