Fedeleche Seeks Flexible Labour Rules for Chilean Dairy Production

Fedeleche has argued that Chile’s agricultural sector needs tailored labour mechanisms, with dairy farming as a particular case. Its president, Marcos Winkler, set out the organisation’s position in an opinion column examining how a 40-hour working week could affect small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises.

The organisation’s central example is milking, which must take place two or three times each day throughout the year. Fedeleche says that reducing working hours without provisions allowing schedules to be adapted could require farms to hire additional employees to cover unchanged shifts.

According to the dairy group, adding workers in that situation would increase fixed costs and could affect the competitiveness of some producers. It also applies the argument to other agricultural activities, including harvesting, irrigation and animal-health management, which are organised around production cycles and weather conditions rather than standard office schedules.

Fedeleche has said it supports improving workers’ quality of life, but wants implementation of the working-time rules to recognise the specific conditions of farming. Options under consideration include interrupted working days for milkers and exceptional arrangements that would align labour requirements with the operating rhythm of dairy production.

Winkler said dairy farming has a strong presence in rural communities and provides permanent employment. Fedeleche therefore maintains that smaller agricultural businesses, which have less capacity to absorb higher labour costs, could be particularly affected by inflexible regulation.

The organisation is calling for the 40-hour week to include specific schemes for activities governed by biological and production cycles. It says the discussion should address how the rules can be applied without compromising employment or the productivity of farms.