Chile BHP Spence Workers Reject Offer, Likely To Strike-Union
September 25 2009 - 11:32AM
Dow Jones News
Unionized workers at BHP Billiton Ltd.'s (BHP) Spence copper
mine in Chile rejected the latest contract offer and will likely
vote in favor of a strike, a union leader said Friday.
In general assemblies held Thursday and Friday, workers voted to
reject the offer.
Following local labor laws, a strike vote, via secret ballot,
will be held on Sept. 27, 28 and 30, union spokesman Francisco
Aravena told Dow Jones Newswires.
"One hundred percent of workers rejected the offer at the
assemblies - we think this is headed for a strike," Aravena
said.
He added that the 560-strong union isn't going to seek the
five-day, government-assisted mediation period, but is willing to
restart talks if the mining company sought the mediation.
"We're gearing up for a strike," Aravena said.
Current contracts expire on Sept. 30. Spence workers are seeking
a 5.5% wage increase, social benefits and bonuses linked to
international copper prices.
"Collective bargaining is a normal process in our organization's
labor relations and we approach it as an opportunity to advance
towards the future along with our workers," BHP Billiton said in a
statement released earlier this week.
The union represents about 95% of the workers eligible for union
membership and about 60% of the mine's total workforce, according
to the union's calculations.
The open-pit Spence mine produced about 165,000 metric tons of
copper, in the form of cathodes, last year. This year, it's
expected to produce about 200,000 tons of copper.
This is Spence's second collective bargaining process as workers
negotiated the about-to-expire contract in 2006 before the mine
went into production.
In addition to Spence, in Chile BHP owns the Cerro Colorado mine
and controls and operates the Escondida copper mine. The latter
will begin wage negotiations later this year.
In 2006, when copper prices were booming, Escondida workers went
on strike for nearly a month, bringing the world's largest copper
mine to a standstill as they sought higher wages and production
bonuses.
-By Carolina Pica, Dow Jones Newswires; 56-2-820-4244;
carolina.pica@dowjones.com