September 06, 2008

Grupo Mexico and miner union closer to ending strike

Reuters reported that Mexican miner Grupo Mexico and the national miners union moved closer to resolving a long running strike at the giant Cananea copper pit after the two sides sat down for new talks on Wednesday.

The labor ministry called the union and the company to the negotiating table for the second time in two weeks to end the dispute, which began last July when workers laid down tools at Cananea over health and safety concerns.

Both sides said that discussions were moving forward.

Mr Carlos Pavon union official after a two hour meeting with company lawyers and government mediators said that "We are seriously trying to resolve this conflict and the most important thing now is that we are both sitting at the table.”

The miners say thick piles of dust and disconnected ventilators at the mine are a major health hazard, but the company says the problems have been fixed.

Grupo Mexico said that it will not pay miners the back wages they want for the seven month long strike, but are willing to give workers cash to come back to their jobs.

Mr Salvador Rocha a lawyer for Grupo Mexico said that "We still have some important economic differences but we will continue to work towards an amicable solution.”