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Members of the Chilean gendarmerie encouraged a bus driver, who was bringing in scabs, to run over striking workers who had set up a picket line in front of the entrance to Alfa Chile factory in a suburb of the capital Santiago, Radio Villa Francia reported Saturday.
One unidentified witness said the police on site told the driver, “Just run over them …. drive over them, it's their fault anyway.”
A video from the scene shows a bus creeping in reverse toward the main entrance of the factory, with workers yelling at the driver to stop. The bus, carrying replacement workers, eventually makes it way onto the factory grounds after the striking workers move to avoid being run over.
Police were seen speaking with the factory's owner before the incident took place, suggesting they received a green light from the owner.
Workers at Alfa Chile have been on strike for nearly two weeks and say they have faced regular repression and intimidation by the Carabiniers of Chile, as the gendarmerie is known.
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Striking workers said the company purchased a drone, which they say is constantly monitoring them and their movements, and is operated by the owner's own son.
Alfa Chile, which is a food supplier, is owned and operated by Benjamín Berkovits, who also a registered provider to the Chilean Air Force.
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