Roberto Jorquera
Workers at BHP's Escondida copper mine in northern Chile voted on August 31 to end their strike and accept a deal for a 5% pay rise and bonuses of some US$17,000. More than 2000 workers had been on strike since August 7.
Chile produces 36% of world copper output, including 8.5% from the Escondida mine. According to its website, the mine accounts for 2.5% of Chile's gross domestic product. Australian mining giant BHP owns 57.5% of Escondida, while Rio Tinto owns 30%.
The strike, which represented 97% of the mine's workers, was a response to the massive increase in Escondida's profits due to high copper prices. According to Bloomberg, Escondida's profits more than tripled in the first half of the year to $2.92 billion from $936.9 million the previous year. Copper prices have quadrupled in the three years since the union last negotiated wages.
As of August 19, workers were demanding a 10% wage increase and a $30,000 bonus. In response, Escondida offered a 3% wage increase and a $16,000 bonus. Output at the mine was reduced by more than half during the strike, and on August 16, Escondida's management said the strike was costing an average of $16 million per day in profits. On August 19, BHP announced that it had closed operations indefinitely at the mine and had ended negotiations with striking workers. Under the pressure of the mounting costs of the strike, BHP was forced to increase its offer to a 4% wage rise above inflation and a $17,000 bonus to each worker. After a fourth year, workers would be entitled to a further 1.3% increase and further bonuses.
During the strike, BHP hired 50 scabs to keep production going at the mine, which is legal in Chile if a strike exceeds 15 days. The union at Escondida is now demanding that the government repeal this law.
According to union leader Luis Troncoso, the union is also considering filing a legal complaint accusing Escondida's management of "anti-union practices". The union said the company had sent out notices to individual striking workers offering them a contract in an attempt to break the strike.
The August 31 meeting of miners was held at a sports complex next to management headquarters that was taken over by workers during the strike. Some posters hung by miners who were camped out in tents on a soccer field near the roadside, read "bloodsucker, let go of the $", and "the money Escondida earns goes abroad".