Kast Signs Amendments to Sala Cuna Universal Bill, Proposes Four-Year Phase-In

President Kast signed formal amendments (indicaciones) to the Sala Cuna Universal (universal childcare) bill at La Moneda, flanked by Labor Minister Tomás Rau, Education Minister María Paz Arzola, Women and Gender Equality Minister Judith Marín, and Social Development Minister María Jesús Wulf. The amendments target Article 203 of the Labor Code, which for over a century imposed an additional childcare-provision cost specifically on employers hiring women, discouraging female hiring. The financing model levies an additional 0.35% payroll contribution offset by an equivalent cut to employer unemployment-insurance contributions, plus a fiscal contribution of roughly 11,631 UTM (~$10 billion CLP) over the first two years. Coverage phases in over four years: dependent workers in year one, independent and domestic workers in year two, working fathers in year three, and fathers whose partners are not working or studying in year four. Kast said the reform 'must advance gradually' to remain fiscally sustainable, while acknowledging 'hay familias que no llegan a fin de mes' (there are families that can't make ends meet).