Unionized workers at Codelco’s Chuquicamata copper mine in Chile downed tools on Monday saying they had “exhausted” all instances for dialogue with management.
Access to Chuquicamata, the state miner’s second largest copper mine by output, has been blocked since early hours, as unions No. 1, 2, and 3, as well as Antofagasta Union No. 1 demand Codelco to re-hire two workers “unjustified layoff” earlier this year, local radio station Bio Bio reports (in Spanish).
The strike is also due partly to protest Codelco’s plans to transition the existing open pit to an underground mine, which would eliminate up to 4,500 jobs, José Mardones, leader of Union No.3, said in a statement.
Relations between Codelco and its unions at Chuquicamata, arguably history’s most important copper mine, and one on which Chile’s current prosperity was built , soured in the past few months as the company revealed cost-cutting plans.
The century-old operation is running out of profitable ore and has to switch to a modern underground operation. The new mine, this time underground, will need 1,700 fewer workers, the company has said, partly because conveyor belts will replace trucks.
More to come…
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From:: Infomine