The Chilean Government has decided to suspend its port competition plan for four months, following union pressure to eliminate the proposed measures and form a new agreement, newspaper La Tercera reported.

Union workers had initially planned a strike for today, but the agreement to temporarily halt the Competitive Impulse Agenda is no guarantee that demonstrations won't take place, the story reported.

The port union questioned the agenda's measures, which included the opening of passenger and cargo coastal shipping for foreign vessels; a modernization plan for customs to provide more competition and facilitate processing; allowing extra-port storage in other customs jurisdictions; a revision of transport cargo regulations, and authorization for multimodal transport operations.

Valparaiso Mayor Jorge Castro said the four month period would be given in which international trade could take place and appropriate arrangements could be made, the story reported.

"This means that it calls us to work and in that period the measures are suspended," he was quoted as saying.

Union president Roberto Fantuzzi told the newspaper that while the agenda was heading in the right direction, it needed to be corrected and improved.

"When you read it carefully you realize there are good things, but there is a lot of filling and other things that have no substance," Fantuzzi was quoted as saying.

Photo: Flickr, PJFurlong06

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