hunger strike
The police announced on Wednesday a radicalization of the national strike which started on Monday. Now, officials decided to take the protest to the next level and called a cantonment and a strike of hunger from 20:00 hours.
“Here, from the flagship unit, the penitentiary, invite all prison workers that from 20:00 today to general quartering on all criminal and special units of the country. “Furthermore inform you that through indolence that has been part of the Executive and the constant threats that we have suffered by the Minister of the Interior, decreed to tell today’s day a total hunger strike here in the penitentiary”, said the Secretary national gendarmerie officers (Anfup) National Association and prison workers, Marcos Aburto, front spokesman in a video that was viralizado on social networks.
“If we don’t have immediate response of the Executive, this hunger strike will continue progressively to each of the criminal and special units throughout the country”, added the Manager, to then shout the slogan United Gendarmes never will be defeated!
The Anfup measures are added to the announced on Tuesday, which are the prohibition of imputed income and departures abroad of inmates, except those who have health situations that need to be taken care of in care centres.
The conflict between the Government and gendarmerie is long-standing. At the end of June, officials had already threatened with a strike then that the Government dismiss the request of gendarmes from sitting to the Minister of Justice, Hernán Larraín to negotiate. It threatens that it was not finally materialized, already just hours after leaders reached an agreement in principle and spilling over a work table for 90 days in which changes to the career civil servant, legal definitions were treated on the pension system, improvement in the conditions of prisons and put an end to the criminalization against officials.
However, on 31 October, after three hours of meeting and four months of negotiations, Guild leaders pointed out that the table broke with the Government after attend part three of the eleven requests, leaving out key demands: redistribution of the plants, including the of non-uniformed, who has spent five years in gendarmerie; and the restoration of pension rights.
At the same time, the Government said a series of measures to take as a result of this strike is considered illegal. In this context, Deputy Minister of Justice, Juan José Ossalas, mentioned salary reductions and gathering information to determine if proceed administrative summaries.
Deputy Minister called on police to specify those points which are not in agreement and lamented the effects of the strike has had on the functioning of the judicial system.
