On Thursday, March 23, after 43 days and losses of about $700 million, the strike at Minera Escondida ended. Escondida is operated by Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton and its main facilities are located in Antofagasta, Chile.
The decision was confirmed by Escondida’s Labor Union No. 1 after the company reported a few minutes earlier that strike terminated “after successive attempts to reach an agreement.” The process of collective bargaining with its workers is now over.
The world’s largest copper producer had warned it was maintaining the “closing bid” it released last week, which included a bond warrant of 11.5 million pesos, compared to the 25 million demanded by the strikers, a readjustment of salaries based on Chile’s IPC (Consumer Price Index) and a duration of 42 months for the new collective agreement.
