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21 April, 2008
Strikes and protests by contract workers in Chile have shut over one-half of production at the world’s largest copper producer, Codelco. The strikes and road blockades began on 16 April and intensified over the weekend as access to the state-run company’s second largest mine, El Tiniente, was blocked.
Contract workers, some 28,000 in number that are employed by a multitude of companies providing food, transportation, and other services to Codelco’s five mines in northern and southern Chile, are firmly behind their union, Confederación de Trabajadores del Cobre (CTC), in demands that Codelco implement the agreed upon terms that ended a 37-day strike by workers last summer.
The strike appears to have the support of the main miners’ union, Federación de Trabajadores del Cobre (FTC), which has demanded that Codelco and the government halt all mining until the total security of all miners can be assured. Codelco employs about 15,000 full-time miners.
At El Tiniente, the world’s largest underground copper mine south of the capital city of Santiago, contract workers blocked roads beginning Friday evening, 18 April, preventing miners from entering the mine for two work turns. Reportedly, mining resumed yesterday afternoon.
Since 16 April, copper mining and processing has been completely closed at Codelco’s Andina and El Salvador mines in the north of the country due to road blockades. The industrial actions are the third set of strikes by contract workers of Codelco since January 2006, when they launched a 17-day strike. This round of action comes shortly after Codelco negotiated wage increases for miners of FTC and other mining unions.
The strikes by CTC do have the support of the main national labour centre, the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Chile (CUT). At a forum in Santiago late last week, CUT President Arturo Martínez said it is Codelco and the government’s responsibility to negotiate directly with the contract workers. He added that private companies serving Codelco take advantage of legal loopholes to avoid negotiating with the CTC, or other workers’ representatives.
Codelco has maintained throughout – including again last week – that it is not responsible for negotiating with workers of subcontracting firms.