Port Confederation Submits 80 Applications for Grace Pensions to DAS

A total of 80 folders containing background information for the processing of grace pensions were submitted to the Department of Social Action (DAS) of the Ministry of Interior by leaders of the National Confederation of Port Workers, headed by its national coordinator, Gabriel Rebolledo, along with Senator Gastón Saavedra.

The initiative also included the submission, through the Office of Records of La Moneda Palace, of a letter addressed to the Government in which the workers denounced discrimination that, they assert, they face in the process of applying for this social benefit, and requested the establishment of objective and transparent criteria for its granting.

In the document, the port workers also questioned the requirement to belong to a specific union organization to access grace pensions, a requirement that reportedly did not exist previously and, they maintain, has paralyzed hundreds of applications.

According to the senator, the day was marked by initial difficulties in submitting the documentation. However, after efforts made by the Confederation's legal team and the accompaniment of Senator Saavedra, the folders were finally received by the Directorate of Social Action.

"Undesirable situations sometimes occur in public offices that unfortunately arise due to a lack of judgment, simply that, in the reception of documentation representing the folders of workers seeking social security here at the DAS. It has been resolved in a good way, it's already there, and now we have to await the course of events and the evaluations and considerations that the Directorate of Social Action of the Government of Chile will make," Saavedra stated.

The parliamentarian added that "this confederation represents a little over 3,000 workers, and that is tremendously important when it comes to validating the organizations that workers democratically form," reaffirming recognition of the union organization's representativeness.

For his part, Gabriel Rebolledo explained that initially, the reception of the documents was rejected, a situation that was finally resolved.

"Initially, they didn't want to receive us, but through our team of lawyers and obviously the senator, we managed to submit the folders, and at this moment, they are being received by the records office here at the DAS. We will wait for a legal response as to whether it is appropriate or if they will process them or not, and depending on that, we will continue to advance with the actions we have planned with our legal team," the leader indicated.

The coordinator of the National Confederation of Port Workers specified that the 80 applications correspond to the definitive registry carried out by the organization.

"We conducted a very exhaustive final registry and determined that the slots we need are 80 applications, which are what we are submitting today. We hope they will be accepted and processed; otherwise, we expect a formal response and will take the appropriate actions," Rebolledo affirmed.

The National Confederation of Port Workers reiterated that their demand aims to guarantee equal treatment for all port workers, transparency in the criteria applied by the authority, and compliance with acquired commitments, warning that they will continue to pursue the necessary administrative and legal actions as long as there is no solution for the more than 3,000 workers they represent.