Reuters reported that workers at Chile's Andina copper mine demanded a 5% wage hike to owner Codelco.

A union leader said that Andina's labor talks are watched closely by the market as an upswing in copper prices has raised the demands of mine workers in Chile which produces a third of the world's copper.

Mr Manuel Canas the head negotiator for 2 Andina unions in talks for a new contract said that workers asked the state miner for a single 5% wage hike for the 2 year contract and benefits linked to productivity.

Mr Canas said that today we start official negotiations with the company. We expect to hear back from the company on November 4th 2009. The 1,200 workers, which represent about 60% of the mine's labor force, earlier this month rejected a Codelco offer to raise salaries 3% and bonuses worth around USD 16,000 per worker. He declined to detail the amount of bonuses they demanded from Codelco. The contract expires on November 30th 2009. Andina produced 219,500 tonnes of copper in 2008.

Mr Canas said that Codelco has 15 days to respond to the demand before both sides sit down to hammer out a deal prior to the expiration of the contract. If no agreement is reached Chile allows the company to ask for an additional 5 days of government mediation before workers can down tools.

(Sourced from Reuters)