Union at BHP's Escondida Copper Mine in Chile to End Strike
March 23 2017 - 2:18PM
Dow Jones News
By Ryan Dube
Workers at BHP Billiton Ltd.'s majority-owned Minera Escondida
mine in Chile will end a strike at the world's biggest copper
operation this weekend, a union leader said Thursday.
Patricio del Rosario, the president of Escondida's largest
union, Union No. 1, said workers agreed to implement Article 369 of
Chile's Labor Code, which allows them to return to work with their
current collective agreement for 18 months.
"On Saturday we are returning to work," Mr. Del Rosario said by
telephone.
Workers at Escondida, which accounts for about 5% of the global
copper production, went on strike February 9, halting production at
the mine and sending copper prices higher on concerns about a
supply shortage.
Talks for a new collective agreement, which expired Jan. 31,
fell apart as the union rejected offers for a new deal that they
said would reduce their benefits.
The union's decision to implement Article 369 follows a BHP
statement Thursday saying negotiations had broken down after
successive attempts to reach a deal. BHP said the implementation of
the article by the union will require the company to "evaluate its
operational and production strategy and will adjust its short and
medium-term plans since this would imply significant changes in
current conditions at the operation."
BHP operates and owns 58% of Escondida, located in Chile's
northern Atacama desert. Rio Tinto PLC and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp.
have minority interests in the operation.
Labor disputes have flared up in Chile's mining sector over the
past year as worker demands conflict with company efforts to cut
costs by reducing benefits and laying off employees due to lower
commodity prices.
The strike at Escondida is expected to weigh on Chile's economic
growth in the first quarter after a sluggish 2016, economists say.
Last year, Chile's economy expanded 1.6%, its weakest annual growth
rate since 2009.
Chile is the world's biggest producer of copper, which is the
country's main export earner.
Write to Ryan Dube at ryan.dube@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2017 14:03 ET (18:03 GMT)
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