Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc’s Peruvian copper miners may strike on September 27 a union official said that as they returned to their jobs this weekend after a four day work stoppage.

Union general secretary Leoncio Amudio said that workers at Freeport’s Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde SAA mine ended the strike September 17 after it was declared illegal by the government and clashes with police left six workers wounded. Government brokered talks aimed at a one year accord are scheduled to resume again.

Mr Amudio said that “The company has acted in bad faith. Conciliation has failed so far and after this brutality, there’s no way we’ll accept a long term agreement.”

Workers in Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Indonesia have walked off their jobs at copper, gold and zinc mines this year, seeking better working conditions and a larger percentage of record profits. Miners at Cerro Verde held a 48 hour strike earlier this month and Freeport’s Grasberg copper and gold mine in Indonesia began a month long strike September 15.

The unit’s general manager Mr Bruce Clemens said that Freeport doesn’t expect an immediate impact on copper output from the Cerro Verde strike. The company will keep seeking a labor accord with the union, Clemens told reporters at a conference in Arequipa.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)