Approximately 4600 employees of Correos de Chile have been on strike since July 23rd.

This means that all packages, letters, and deliveries depending on Chile’s equivalent of the United States Postal Service, have presumably been stockpiling for over a month, in the Andean country of 17 million.

Workers have initiated the stoppage over a demand for a salary increase of 50,000 Chilean pesos (~$100 USD) per employee, 24 month contracts, and a bonus of $1,500,000 Chilean pesos (~$3000 USD).

Since August 18th, employees have been camping on the banks of the Mapocho River, which runs through Santiago.

Founded in 1750, the Chilean postal system was created by order of King Philip V of Spain, the institution went through numerous changes, until Correos de Chile was formally created as autonomous institution responsible for the postal system in Chile in December, 1981 under Augusto Pinochet.

In 2012, Correos de Chile was also the first mail system in Latin America to implement automated parcel terminals which provides automated booths for self-service collection of parcels and oversize letters.