According to Diario Financiero, Minister of Labor Tomás Rau asked the Superintendencia de Pensiones (Chile's pension regulator) to update the actuarial report for the Sala Cuna Universal (universal nursery care) bill. An actuarial report is the calculation that projects how much a system costs and whether its funds will hold up. The goal is to assess a funding formula proposed by Fundación ChileMujeres.
The outlet bases its report on sources familiar with the talks. Those same sources say it is an option under analysis, not a decision by the Executive. La Moneda (the presidential palace) has not yet decided whether it will adopt the proposal.
The timing is sensitive. The general vote on the bill was postponed to Tuesday, October 20, and the government used that window to talk with lawmakers from across the political spectrum.
The ChileMujeres proposal has two parts. First, lower the contribution that funds the system from 0.35% to 0.3%. Second, offset that entire contribution by redistributing contributions to the Seguro de Cesantía (Unemployment Insurance), so employers do not bear an additional cost.
It helps to understand how the Seguro de Cesantía works. It has two pockets. One is the individual accounts, which belong to each worker. The other is the Fondo de Cesantía Solidario (Solidarity Unemployment Fund), to which only the employer contributes and which the Treasury can reinforce if needed.
The difference with the government lies in which pocket the money comes from. The Executive's substitute amendment takes 0.2 percentage point from the individual accounts and 0.15 point from the solidarity fund. ChileMujeres reverses the burden: 0.1 point from the individual accounts and 0.2 points from the solidarity fund.
In practice, if you are a formal-sector worker, the foundation's formula takes less from your personal unemployment savings. In exchange, ChileMujeres is asking for an explicit commitment from the Treasury to safeguard the sustainability of the solidarity fund.
The foundation's executive president, Francisca Jünemann, said the proposal "has had a very good reception across the board". She added that the proposal opened a door to reaching an agreement on a bill "that belongs to the whole country, for women".
An agreement is not guaranteed. According to sources cited by Diario Financiero, the Frente Amplio has objections to the entire offset coming from the Seguro de Cesantía, which could complicate a cross-party deal.
Funding is not the only change under study. One of the most advanced adjustments benefits domestic workers (trabajadoras de casa particular). The bill gives them access starting in the second year after it takes effect, but the government would move that up to the first year, at the request of Deputy Tamara Ramírez of the Partido de la Gente.
The government is also considering support for VTF (Vía Transferencia de Fondos) nurseries, which receive funding from Junji, the Junta Nacional de Jardines Infantiles (National Board of Nursery Schools). The idea is for the fund to cover the gap between what they receive per child and the value set by the system. If that value were 7 UTM (unidad tributaria mensual, a Chilean inflation-indexed monthly tax unit) and the nursery received 5, the fund would pay the remaining 2. The mechanism has not yet been defined.
ChileMujeres had asked for something broader: restoring transfers to Junji, Integra and the VTF nurseries to fund extended hours and year-round operation.
On who holds the right, the government insists it should rest with the worker. However, it is studying wording that would make explicit children's right to care and education. The foundation proposes returning that entitlement to mothers and fathers.
ChileMujeres also proposes capping co-payments at 10% of the fund's transfer, evaluating the law's first years and suspending payments in cases of unjustified and prolonged absences. There is no known position from the Executive on those points. The general vote is set for this Tuesday, October 20.
