In an act that marks a milestone in the defense of labor rights in the public health sector in Chile, the National Confederation of University Health Service Professionals (Fenpruss), supported by Public Services International (PSI) and the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT), filed a formal complaint with the International Labor Organization (ILO) for serious and systematic anti-union practices in the Chilean health system.

The event, which took place at the ILO office in Santiago, not only represents a strong step in the international denunciation of the abuses against freedom of association, but also sends a clear political signal to the government of President Gabriel Boric: the workers of the health system will not tolerate any more persecution or reprisals for exercising their rights.

The denunciation was delivered in the presence of the ILO's senior specialist in activities with workers, Juan José Guilarte, who listened attentively to the account of the facts that make up a worrying authoritarian drift in some of the country's health services: salary discounts for union leave, arbitrary transfers, unjustified dismissals of leaders, administrative summaries reopened without grounds and reprisals against those who denounce harassment and labor violence.

"What is happening in the public health system is deeply alarming. The administrative apparatus of the State is being used to persecute and intimidate those of us who defend labor rights. This is not only an attack on Fenpruss, it is an attack on union democracy", said Gabriela Farías, national president of Fenpruss.

The complaint invokes ILO Conventions 87 and 151, both ratified by Chile, which enshrine freedom of association and the protection of union activity in the public sector. PSI, which since its origins has participated in spaces for monitoring international labor standards, was clear in pointing out the seriousness of what is happening.

"We are co-sponsoring this complaint because what Fenpruss has documented constitutes a direct threat to the fundamental principles of decent work and freedom of association. If we allow these practices to continue, we weaken the very foundations of labor democracy in Chile," said Nayareth Quevedo, PSI's sub-regional secretary for the Southern Cone.

From the center of the trade union world, this gesture is not only a denunciation; it is a cry of alert. Fenpruss has requested that the case be referred to the Committee on Freedom of Association, in the hope that this international body will issue recommendations to the State of Chile to force the immediate cessation of these practices, setting a precedent for the health sector in Chile.

Meanwhile, the union has already begun to socialize this action as part of a larger offensive for the respect of the fundamental rights of those who work in the very heart of the public health system. Because what is at stake, beyond each individual case, is the collective right to organize, to defend labor dignity and to exercise freedom of association without fear.

Watch official video of the moment of the delivery of the complaint