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Workers at BHP‘s Escondida copper mine in Chile downed tools on Tuesday after wage negotiations ended up without and agreement between the parties, despite the government’s mediation.
The strike at the world’s largest copper mine began at 8 a.m. local time on Tuesday and involves the union’s 2,400 members, leaders said in a emailed statement, though no formal announcement has been released yet.
“We’re convinced we made every responsible effort to reach an agreement, but that wasn’t possible,” the union said.
BHP representatives and union leaders sat down on Monday for one last session of mediated talks that extended to the early hours of Tuesday. Before the tense meeting, the Australian mining giant presented an improved wage offer directly to workers and the labour regulator, which included a US$28,900 bonus for each worker.
According to BHP, union leaders didn’t show up to scheduled sessions earlier Monday. Workers leaders said the company was aware they wouldn’t be attending the earlier discussions, accusing BHP of revealing the terms without prior consultation.
The last significant time Escondida workers downed tools was in 2017 and lasted 44 days. The stoppage hurt production, drove global copper prices up and became the longest private-sector mining strike in Chile’s history.
It’s estimated that Escondida — responsible for about 5% of the world’s total copper output — failed to produce more than 120,000 tonnes of the red metal due to that strike.