– The march took place in downtown Concepción and also had the presence of authorities, such as the mayor of Talcahuano and deputy Sergio Bobadilla.

Thousands of people gathered this morning in downtown Concepción, in the context of a march in which fishing industry workers demonstrated their concerns about the bill on breakup that is currently being processed in Congress.

The demonstration culminated in the Plaza de la Independencia in Concepción, where workers, union leaders and authorities expressed their concerns about the situation facing the industry.

“It is exciting to see the tremendous value chain that the industry has, and I am sure that there are more people, but this is only a part of what we are,” said the president of the Blumar Salmon Union, Paola Sanhueza.

“This cross-cutting mobilization is very necessary. We are all concerned about the breakup bill, the possible aquaculture bill and the eventual closure of cuttlefish processing plants. These are bad bills,” she said. She assured that “we have the duty, as workers, to defend our right to work”.

The president of the Blumar Frozen Jack Mackerel Plant Union, Zenaida Reyes, expressed that “our jobs and our daily lives are in danger. We are thousands of people who depend on our work. We will move forward to defend our sources of employment”.

The mayor of Talcahuano, Eduardo Saavedra, stated that “together with the Municipal Council, we have the firm conviction to defend the industry and each of the workers who work in the city and also in the Biobío Region”. Along those lines, he stated that “the breakup law will bring more unemployment to the region, when what we are seeking is the opposite”. The mayor also commented that he will present, together with governor Sergio Giacaman, before the Senate’s Commission on Maritime Interests, Fishing and Aquaculture next Monday.

For his part, the deputy of District 20 (which comprises the entire Province of Concepción), Sergio Bobadilla, indicated that “there is nothing more noble than defending employment stability”, against “a bill that seriously undermines employment stability, particularly of thousands of women in the Biobío Region”. Along those lines, he called on the Executive to withdraw the breakup bill.

As Blumar, we support peaceful demonstrations that allow us to show the vision of industrial fishing workers regarding the regulatory changes being sought. Our view as a company is that it is urgent that the Rule of Law and legal certainty prevail as the main ways to discuss new legislation.