Union at BHP's Minera Escondida Copper Mine Votes to Strike

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The union at BHP Group Limited's (Melbourne, Australia) Minera Escondida copper mine in Chile has rejected the company's latest contract proposal and is calling to halt operations at the asset.

The supervisors and staff labor union at Minera Escondida, known as Sindicato 2, has voted to go on strike following failed contract negotiations. The strike action received 98.77% of the support from the union's more than 900 affiliates.

The negotiations between BHP and the union collapsed last month after the syndicate criticized a new contract proposal. "The company has led us to the strike by illegally reducing the negotiating floor, breaching the collective contract, illegal reduction of benefits, non-compliance with the workday, term bonuses well below the market and disrespect for Chilean labor law," said the union in a statement.

Following the failed negotiations, the syndicate asked its members to vote and decide whether to go on strike.

The union also said that it will continue to fight for better salaries, equal pay, just bonuses and the respect of workers, "and we will use all available means to do so," read the statement shared on Twitter.

Nevertheless, the supervisors' syndicate has yet to announce a date for the strike, giving the mining company time to review its proposal.

Minera Escondida is the world's largest copper mine. As a result, any strike disruptions represent a major loss for BHP and Chile. In previous years, the company faced similar strike threats, but it was able to resolve the matter through negotiations.

However, in 2017, workers at Minera Escondida went on strike for 44 days, leading to losses close to $740 million, and impacting Chile's gross domestic product.

In the second quarter of the year, BHP produced 293,000 tons of copper from Minera Escondida, about 16% more than in the previous quarter. For the financial year that ended in June 2023, the mine reached an output of 1.06 million tons of copper, reaching the lower end of the revised guidance set by the company but 5% more than during the previous year.

The guidance for the 2024 financial year has been set between 1.080 and 1.180 million tons of copper, a goal that could be impacted by strike actions.

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