CHILE: COPPER MINING SUBCONTRACTORS STAGE STRIKE FOR BONUSES, BETTER CONDITIONS AS PRICES HIT RECORD LEVELS.

Support workers for the world's largest copper producer, Chile's Corporacion del Cobre (CODELCO), struck for better working conditions and bonuses in January. The state-owned copper company announced in February that it had settled with the strikers, although workers threatened to strike again if the company did not meet certain terms.

The contractors' strike began Jan. 4 and lasted 16 days. Nonetheless, negotiations between the company and the Federacion de Trabajadores de Cobre (FTC) lasted into the first week of February, with workers at the El Teniente and Andina divisions of the company refusing to work.

The striking contractors were not directly involved in the extraction of copper, but they provided services like maintenance and construction for ore extraction. CODELCO sources said that the strike was not affecting production early on, but analysts expected it to slow output as equipment came to need service.

Strike ostensibly settled in February with no big bonus

A Feb. 7 CODELCO announcement said that the two sides had reached an agreement and ended the conflict through negotiations at a labor and social-reconciliation meeting. Among the points of agreement were plans to finance a permanent labor program, taking its basis from an agreement signed by the FTC and the labor directorate for CODELCO. CODELCO also committed to specific labor laws on accidents and on-the-job sicknesses in its future licensing and contracting with subcontractors, as well as rules that cover labor training in the country.

There were also agreements that the company would build changing houses where contract workers could change clothes onsite and that it would make a monthly payment of 10,000 pesos (about US$19) to those workers who qualified for the benefit (compensation for not having changing rooms), starting Feb. 1. Contracting companies will be obligated to deliver work clothes and laundry for the contract workers in operation and mine-development areas. While that was being implemented, workers would receive a monthly clothing bonus of 15,000 pesos (US$29). The bonuses were set to expire once the companies implemented clothing, clothes-changing, and laundry services.

The working group set up as part of the negotiations also said it would analyze in detail the law on subcontracting currently before the national Congress.

Workers were striking a very hot iron as prices for copper hit record levels on the world market. On Jan. 10, copper was selling for...

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