Codelco reaches agreement with workers to end strike

Chile’s state-owned Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, reached an agreement with workers on Thursday to end a nationwide strike over the closure of a troubled smelter in a highly polluted region of central Chile.

The Federation of Copper Workers (FTC) started the strike early Wednesday morning and claimed to have all divisions stopped, while the government maintained that impacts were minimal after preparing for the announced strike.

“We’ve determined as a council to inform the presidents of unions to lift the strike,” Amador Pantoja, president of the FTC, told reporters outside Codelco’s office, citing progress made during talks with Codelco’s management.

(By Natalia Ramos and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)