Chile’s Codelco strikes labor deal with supervisors at Salvador mine

Reuters | May 15, 2019 | 11:23 am Base Metals Top Companies Latin America Copper

Codelco reaches union agreement with Salvador mine

Salvador, Codelco’s smallest mine. (Image courtesy of Codelco)

State miner Codelco, the world’s top copper producer, said on Wednesday that it had agreed on a new labor contract with the union of supervisors at its small Salvador mine in northern Chile.

The union and company had entered into a government mediated negotiation earlier this month after supervisors rejected the company’s previous offer and alleged that Codelco was putting undue pressure on its workers to accept the deal.

“The new collective contract … maintains the previous benefits and will expire in 36 months,” Codelco said in a statement.

The deal includes a signing bonus and other benefits that total $11,600 per worker, in addition to a salary raise of around 1 percent.

Salvador produced 60,800 tonnes of copper in 2018.

(By Fabian Cambero and Dave Sherwood; Editing by Susan Thomas)