Since 19l;9> Chile has not imported any fish or fishery- 

 products (including shrimp). This v;as accomplished first by not in- 

 cluding these items in the foreign-exchanjje budget and later by direct 

 prohibition. Previously, small ajnounts of canned and dried shrijnp were 

 imported from the United States, but the amounts were never appreciable. 

 Any exports of shrirup to Chile that may show in United States statistics 

 are most probably under diplomatic free entiy. 



SOCIAL LEGISLATION AS IT AFFECTS THE FISHING INDUSTRY 



Chile has advanced social legislation. Almost all production 

 workers and white-collar employees, with the exception of the majority 

 of the fishermen, belong to "Cajas de Provision Social" (Social Security 

 Joint Funds). There are a number of such Cajas in Chile. The employed 

 contribute funds that vary from 7 percent to lli percent of their wages, 

 and the employers contribute in like or greater amounts, depending upon 

 the Caja. The funds provide for retirement annuities and, depending on 

 the Caja, varying degrees of medical attention. 



The fish-plant workers usually belong to a Caja and some of 

 the larger fishing companies have their fishermen in the "Caja de la 

 Marina Mercante" (Merchant Marine Joint Fund) . The vast bulk of the 

 fishermen are still unprotected, although the government is attempting 

 to extend coverage to them under the "Caja de Seguro Social." The 

 difficulty that is being encountered in this connection is that since 

 these fishermen do not have an employer they must contribute 22 percent 

 of their earnings under the law. A further complication is the fact that 

 it is extremely hard to establish a satisfactory wage or earning base. 



Along the northern coast of Chile the fishermen's labor 

 unions are quite strong and acLive. The central and southern coasts do 

 not have many unions, but the tendency is for them to increase. Many 

 of the plant workers are not unionized. 



GOVERNMENTAL ASSISTANCE TO THE FISHING INDUSTRY 



Although no emphasis has been placed on shrimp, the Chilean 

 Government has shown much interest in developing the fishing industry 

 in general. This has been manifested through the activities of CORFO 

 (Industrial Development Coi-poration) and through special legislation. 



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