Workers drew first blood in their fight with Chile's Escondida copper mine, cutting 60 percent from daily production as they walked off the job to demand a wage and benefits hike from its foreign owners. "Around 60 percent of output," is being affected by the strike, BHP Billiton spokesman Mauro Valdes said, hours after the widely anticipated walkout. Workers said the strike cut production by as much as 80 percent. The mine, the world's largest copper mine, applied an immediate contingency plan to maintain basic output, but Valdes could not say what the effects of a prolonged strike might be. "Minera Escondida reiterates it desire to maintain dialogue (with workers) and trusts the strike will be carried out in a responsible and legal form," the company said in a statement. Workers at Escondida, which produces about 20 percent of Chile's copper and accounts for 2.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product, are demanding a new contract to replace a 2003 deal that was signed when copper prices were about a fifth of what they are now. Local television showed union workers tossing rock the size of basketballs onto the road leading to the mine in northern Chile to obstruct the potential entry of transports carrying replacement personnel. Talks between the company and the union grew increasingly combative in recent weeks, with each accusing the other of not ceding ground in their demands. Union President Luis Troncoso said there was no plan to halt the strike until the company improves its offer. Workers say they have the support of other Chilean mining unions, and that their fight could influence the outcome of upcoming negotiations at Codelco, Chile's state copper miner and the world's largest producer of the red metal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/07/AR2006080700244.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/07/AR2006080700244.html
