“Mapuche People Earn Lower Wage than Any Other Chilean Person”, 26^th June 2019

…The Mapuche workers are currently earning a 38 percent wage lower than the rest of Chileans, according to a study. Such a three-month study conducted by the Araucania Labor Observatory, proved that the average salary reaches 281 655 Chilean pesos (about 414 dollars) for a Mapuche person, while those who do not belong to that ethnic group is paid 480 000 Chilean pesos (bit more than 700 dollars), El Austral de Temuco newspaper reported. In addition, of the 115 548 Mapuche workers, just 37 percent are women. According to this research, the huge salary gap is also added to the difference in the working areas, since 58.7 percent of workers are serving in rural sector, compared to 41.3 percent in urban sector. In this regard, IDER Director, Fabiola Ramos, stated that the Mapuche people have denounced these discrimination conditions, and explained there are no public policies closely related to cultural identity in Chile. The Regional Secretary of the Ministry of Labor, Patricio Saenz, admitted that this research demonstrated where public policies must be aimed at, for Mapuche people to have a better quality of life by their work…