severe economic crisis left the state with insufficient resources to continue with the transfers.55 The full transfer of all teaching staff was not completed until 1986.56 A.3. The appearance of the “historical debt” 55. The special committee on “historical debts”57 of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies found that the “historical debt” to teachers: […] originated with the transfer of teaching staff from the public sector to municipal administration, under 1980 decree-law 1-3063. Their new situation would accordingly be governed by labor laws and the private sector compensation and retirement provisions, meaning that the municipal governments would be relieved of a non-taxable allowance that had previously been granted to them under Article 40 of 1980 decree-law 3,551, and that should have been paid to them from 1981 through 1984.58 56. Essentially, Article 40 of 1980 decree-law 3,551 called for the creation of a special nontaxable allowance for teachers working under the Ministry of Public Education, starting January 1, 1981. This meant that teachers transferred from the central government to the municipal governments did not receive this allowance. The situation was uneven, however, because some of the teachers did continue to receive it after they were transferred to the municipalities under the terms of conventions signed with the municipal governments themselves or recognition that these payments were in fact part of their compensation. Given the situation of military dictatorship, it was not until the transition to democracy in 1990 that teachers were able to undertake judicial claims for payment of the allowance. Teachers attempted for a time to settle the matter of the debt through the courts, but the results were negligible, and starting in 2002, they took their case to the National Parliament and filed claims with international bodies, including the International Labour Organization (hereinafter “ILO”).59 57. The Office of the President, following the lead of the Office of the Controller General of the Republic, argued that the debt did not exist, considering that the allowance being claimed pertained only to civil servants, and with the municipalization of education, teachers had been placed under the Labor Code and therefore could not be considered government employees. It added that those municipal governments that had included the allowance in their compensation Cf. Andrea Lagos Ávila. “Neoliberales, nacionalistas y estatistas: derecha política y hegemonía en el proyecto educacional del autoritarismo (1979-1988).” Thesis for the degree of “Licenciatura” in History. Santiago, 1996 (evidence file, folio 10727). 55 56 Cf. Andrea Lagos Ávila, supra, (evidence file, folio 10729). The report uses the broad term “historical debt” to cover an array of highly diverse situations, including mortgage debts, the historical debt to teachers, 10.6 percent of retirees, the elimination of the 7 percent contributions for retirees, the beneficiaries of laws on reparations for human rights violations, and damages entailing retirement systems. Cf. Chamber of Deputies of Chile. Report of the special committee on “historical debts,” supra (evidence file, folios 5 and 6). 57 58 5). Chamber of Deputies of Chile. Report of the special committee on “historical debts,” supra (evidence file, folio Cf. International Labour Organization. Report of the Director-General: Fifth Supplementary Report: Report of the Committee set up to examine the representation alleging non-observance by Chile of the Old-Age Insurance (Industry, etc.) Convention, 1933 (No. 35), and the Invalidity Insurance (Industry, etc.) Convention, 1933 (No. 37), made by the College of Teachers of Chile AG, under article 24 of the ILO Constitution (March 12-27, 2015), GB.323/INS/11/5 (evidence file, folios 168 to 198). 59 19