According to a report developed by María Marañón for Diario Financiero, a Chilean newspaper, supermarkets could lose profitability and might start automatizing processes if the Labour Reform is passed.

This statement was made by the Chilean Association of Supermarkets, through Susana Carey, president of the guild and adviser of SOFOFA (Federation of Industrial Companies), who defines the changes suggested as a “setback” and puts emphasis on the complex scenery and the loss of competitiveness and innovation that it would cause on a sector that produced USD 15.000 million in 2014.

The president of the association said that “this seems a reform developed by academics who have not had daily working experience and that are constantly looking for abuses, as it does not consider the dynamism and diversity of labour situations”.

She added that the reform “will generate an increase in wages but with no link with productivity, which is not sustainable in time and will impact on workers and on the productive process. Somehow companies will need to make adjustments to keep on doing the same and to avoid transfering these costs to prices. We will need to find efficiencies to face these pressures that will generate difficulties on daily operations”.

Like in other countries, “if managing staff becomes more complex, projects to automatize processes or to lower assisted sales, start being analyzed”, added Carey.
Among the several dysfunctional situations the sector would have, she mentioned the situation related to “the recent indication, that forbids hiring 30 days prior a collective bargaining. This statement does not take into account that a company may have successive negotiations and can have that prohibition for up to 6 months to avoid supposed replacements during strikes. However, what happens with other situations, such as when we need to hire due to staff rotation or maternity leave?”

Carey stated that these measures will limit the possibilities of development in the country and the sector.