CUT Rejects Government’s Offer and Demands Minimum Wage of $637,000 Amid Stalled Negotiations

During the discussions for the minimum wage increase for 2026, the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) rejected President José Kast’s government proposal, which proposed only an adjustment linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and instead requested a minimum amount of $637,000.

The negotiations have reached an impasse as after five meetings, the CUT Executive Committee did not reach an agreement with Ministers of Finance, Jorge Quiroz, and Labor, Tomás Rau, due to the significant gap between the government’s proposal and the demands of the labor coalition.

According to CUT, it is essential to «recover the purchasing power of workers, which has been severely impacted by rising fuel prices, food costs, the Unidad de Fomento (UF), and the overall cost of living«—a situation exacerbated since Kast’s administration began and the introduction of neoliberal policies such as the elimination of the MEPCO (Fuel Price Stabilization Mechanism).

The union’s proposal specifically aims to increase the current wage of $539,000 to a minimum wage of $637,000, «in pursuit of a real adjustment that would improve the living conditions of working families,» as stated by the Central in a social media post.

Following the latest meeting, CUT President José Manuel Díaz announced that no agreement was reached and that the ministers Quiroz and Rau offered only a limited inflation adjustment, amounting to $23,000 to reach $562,000, which falls short for Chilean families to meet the cost of living and address the loss of purchasing power, estimated to be around 20%.

For Kast and his ministers, the salaries adjustment should have a containment vision to avoid harming growth and employment, whereas the labor coalition advocates for a real increase to compensate for the financial strain on workers due to the historic rise in fuel prices, which has raised costs across the production chain, impacting transportation, food, medicine, basic services, and essential goods.

“What did the Government acknowledge? That the CPI and the real (inflationary) effect of oil will only be assessed in April. Thus, we express our rejection of the proposal presented by Minister Quiroz and Minister Rau, as it is insufficient and fails to meet any of our necessary expectations,» stated Díaz.

“Our goal is to recover purchasing power,” reaffirmed the labor leader, decisively dismissing the government’s proposal, as reported by El Mostrador.

In the absence of an agreement, the government will present its project to Congress, and the CUT will move the discussion to Parliament, where they plan to continue «advocating for a real increase in the minimum wage and a wage policy that ensures decent work and greater social justice.»