MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile's copper mining: one strike over but another looms

Production at Escondida in northern Chile, the world's largest copper mine, resumed over the weekend after a 25-day strike. Union workers voted to accept a proposal from the company offering a five percent wage hike and an end-of-negotiation bonus of US$17,000.

Striking workers signed the contract, which is valid for 40 months, on Thursday.

When the strike began August 7, workers demanded a 13% salary increase and a US$30,000 bonus. Management, on the other side, offered a 3% salary increase and a US$15,000 bonus.

The Escondida mine accounts for 8.5% of the world's output of copper, but during the strike the company's production dropped 50%.

According to Escondida spokesman Mauro Valdes, the strike cost the company 200 million US dollars at a time of very high copper prices. On the other hand, workers haven't been paid since the end of July.

Production at Escondida is expected to normalize within a week, but Chile may soon have another copper strike to deal with.

State-owned mining company Codelco is next in line to negotiate with its workers. Talks with union representative begin in two weeks and Codelco management stated that a deal like the one at Escondida is "the limit and not a starting point".

Codelco workers are expected to bring demands equivalent to those seen at Escondida to the wage talks, and it seems that politicians also expect a certain amount of bargaining before a new contract can be presented.

On several occasions during the Escondida strike President Michelle Bachelet stressed that strikes are normal and a sign of a democratic society.

By Morten Szygenda The Santiago Times - News about Chile