A 10-day national strike by Chilean customs workers came to an end on Friday (June) after worker representatives reached an agreement with the government's Finance Ministry.

Like many other public worker associations, The National Association of Customs Officials of Chile (ANFACH) has been in negotiations for years to regularize the contractual status of its members.

The association says the proportion of customs workers hired on a a fee basis far exceeds the legal limit of 50%.

Talks between ANFACH and the Finance Ministry stalled recently when the two sides failed to agree on an element of the negotiations, resulting in the strike.

"Our union leads, with maturity and clarity...have courageously confronted the authorities of the Service and the Government in a scenario of threats and repression like that have never seen before," ANFACH said in a statement.

It added that "over the last few days we have held informal talks with government representatives, trying to always maintain spaces to find an end to the conflict and be able to reinstate the working table as soon as possible and comply with the signed agreements."

ANFACH said that on Friday it had received a statement from the Finance Ministry saying the authorities had complied with the agreements signed with the workers.

Meanwhile, the association that represents Agriculture and Livestock Service workers, AFSAG, which is facing similar issues relating to workers' contractual status, remains in negotiations with the government.

The entity's president Claudio Banda told Fresh Fruit Portal that while they were in solidarity with ANFACH, they were not calling a strike just yet.

"We are in different stages of negotiations with the Finance Ministry, and although we have not made great progress, there have been some steps in our favor, such as the recognition of agreements and benefits for our workers," she said.

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