Supervisors at Chilean mine reject contract offer, strike possible

SANTIAGO (Reuters) -The union of supervisors at Chile’s Escondida mine on Friday rejected a contract offer from mine owner BHP, paving the way for a strike, the union told Reuters, while the company said it would request government mediation.

The proposed contract was rejected with nearly 99% of the vote according to the union which counts over 900 members.

In a statement, the union said it would continue to seek its objectives, including “pay increases, equal pay for men and women, fair payment of bonuses and respect for working hours,” adding it would use “all available means to do so.”

The union says BHP is looking to reduce benefits and production bonuses while extending working hours.

The parties are set to begin a five-day mediation process under government supervision that can be extended another five days if the parties come close to reaching a deal.

BHP said in a statement one of the dialogue options was a mandatory mediation before labor inspectors. If BHP does not officially request mediation, the strike would begin on Oct. 4.

“The company reaffirms its permanent willingness to dialogue and seek an agreement beneficial to the workers, that takes into account current challenges and long-term forecasts,” it added.

Meanwhile, BHP said, the mine will keep operating as normal.

Though the sprawling Escondida mine could continue to operate even if supervisors walked off the job, a strike could lead to production bottlenecks or slowdowns.

Chile’s powerful Union 1 worker union said it would stand in solidarity with the Escondida supervisors and ensure that no “illegal replacements” came on the job in the event of a work stoppage.

Escondida produced 1.05 million metric tons of last year.