Reuters reported that union leaders and operators of the world's No3 copper mine, Chile's Collahuasi faced off on Friday as management sought to break up a two week strike with a final offer while labor action leaders vowed to stay out.
The management which has put forward a slightly better offer than a prior one in early November to entice employees to return to work said that it would not go back to the negotiating table deepening the divide between the two sides.
Union leaders said that workers will stay on the picket line until management agrees to revive the stalled wage talks. The new offer is a key test of strength for the union and the strike, the biggest among privately owned mines in Chile since workers downed tools for 26 days at Escondida in 2006. They said that the strike is already taking a toll on the mine which yields 3.3% of the world's mined copper or 1,500 tonnes per day and that management's latest maneuver was a desperate act to halt further output losses.
Analysts agree copper output levels are likely far from normal. But the company insists mine output is normal under a contingency plan but has not detailed what normal means. Settling the dispute is seen as key for the mine which is jointly owned by Xstrata and Anglo American working to boost output to more than a million tonnes a year and challenge nearby Escondida as the world's biggest copper pit. The strike has moved copper prices higher and could set a precedent for upcoming wage negotiations at Chilean mines that extract about 6 percent of the world's mined copper.
Collahuasi has said that it will make a one time payment of nearly USD 29,000 in cash up from an earlier offer of around USD 28,000 for employees who return to work before November 23. The operator said that its latest offer improves average wages for a new 40 month contract by 16.4% which is similar to an early November proposal that union leaders dismissed as insufficient.
Workers at nearby Antofagasta Plc's Los Pelambres, the country's No 5 copper mine inked 46 month wage agreement after accepting USD 1,000 less than what Collahuasi is offering strikers. The collective contract was due in February.
Under Chilean law, once a walkout has dragged on for 15 days unions cannot fine members if they choose to return to work before the strike has been formally called off. Workers will not vote on the new offer, however if most of them return to work then labor action will weaken forcing the remainder of strikers to take a similar or lower settlement. If few workers return on Friday, the union could gain the upper hand in future talks or even prolong the standoff, which risks hurting output at the deposit.
Analysts and traders said that Collahuasi prepared well for the strike by stockpiling copper to meet deliveries, though they agree the mine will likely struggle to meet commitments if the stoppage continues for a third week.
(Sourced from Reuters)
