Codelco reaches advance labor deal at Chuquicamata

Chile’s state-owned Codelco, the world’s top copper producer, said Tuesday it had reached a labor agreement ahead of schedule with the union of supervisors at its Chuquicamata mine.

The 36-month agreement enters into force on April 1. The company agreed to a signing bonus worth nearly $5,000, but did not increase worker’s salaries.

The Chuquicamata mine, a massive deposit that produced 385,309 tonnes of copper in 2019, lies in a region that was especially hard hit by coronavirus.

Codelco largely maintained production at Chuquicamata and elsewhere amid the pandemic by reducing staff, adjusting schedules and temporarily shelving projects at the pandemic’s peak.

(By Fabian Cambero and Dave Sherwood; Editing by Jane Merriman)