Hours after salary talks between the government and unions fail, Chilean workers in public sectors take to the streets to demand higher pays.

"We would easily have more than 30-thousand people, considering that there are still people marching towards the demonstration," AP quoted police commander Jose Ramirez as saying on Tuesday.

Demonstrators, who seek higher salaries, staged their protest in the port city of Valparaiso to express their dissatisfaction with the figures proposed by government.

"There is a negotiation [sic.] and we have softened our position, but we cannot accept the numbers the government is proposing, that's not possible," said Raul de la Puente, president of the National Group of Tax Services Employees, referring to the salary ceilings offered by the government.

While the workers have demanded a seven percent rise in their wages, the government says it is only willing to give a three-and-a-half percent increase.

The Chilean government faces a similar demand by the teachers' unions.

The teachers, who have refrained from attending their classes for the past two weeks, want the government to add a 1,500-dollar bonus to their salaries.

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