Chinalco could invest $426 million in Suriname bauxite project
If approved by parliament, Chinalco could begin construction by the middle of next year.
SANTIAGO, March 1 (Reuters) – The main union of Chile’s Los Pelambres copper mine will vote next week on a new contract its members have not yet received and which could lead to a strike if they refuse, a union leader told Reuters on Thursday.
The president of the union for Los Pelambres, a unit of the local group Antofagasta, said the company’s proposal would be finalized no later than Friday.
“We are waiting for the last offer, I do not know if it will meet the expectations, in the early negotiation we did not reach an agreement,” Sergio Munoz said.
“Now it will be decided in a vote next week and there are two roads: we accept the proposal or we reject and we are going to strike.”
In the list of petitions to the company, Munoz detailed that they seek a wage increase of 4.0 percent, monthly bonuses and a signing bonus.
He added that in case the union rejects the company’s offer, the 447 members have already raised $437,000 to face and settle the costs of an eventual strike.
Los Pelambres, which has received environmental approval for a $1.1 billion optimization plan, produced 356,300 tons of copper last year.
(Reporting by Antonio De la Jara; Writing by Cassandra Garrison; editing by Grant McCool)
