Train turmoil unresolved in Canada as new labour action looms
Canada's rail disruption that Ottawa ordered to binding arbitration has new wheels a day later.
Lundin Mining Corp. is sitting down with union leaders in Chile in a bid to end a strike that has been disrupting production at the Caserones copper mine for the past 12 days.
The two sides returned to the negotiating table this week to seek an agreement after an impasse in regular talks saw about 300 workers down tools on Aug. 12, union boss Marco García said Friday in a text message. Lundin owns a 51% interest in an operates the Caserones open pit mine in Chile’s Atacama Region.
A breakthrough would enable a resumption of normal operations at a mine that churned out 137,100 tons last year, Chilean government data show. The strike by members representing 29% of workers at the mine has restricted production at a time of tightness in the global supply of copper concentrate — the raw material used to feed smelters — — even though the market for refined metal is well supplied for now.
While copper prices have pulled back from record highs in May, they remain at elevated levels, emboldening workers in a busy schedule of collective bargaining in Chile. BHP Group had to agree to a signing bonus of more than $30,000 per worker to end a strike at its giant Escondida mine. Another Caserones union struck a wage deal in April.
(By James Attwood)
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