Catherwood LibraryILR School

The annual CRU World Copper Conference held in Chile will begin on April 3, and labor relations promises to be heavily discussed. BHP Billiton and Escondida mine workers failed to reach a contract deal last week after a 43 day strike, suggesting that other contract negotiations scheduled for this year will be similarly unsuccessful. However, many believe that the upcoming negotiations will be more successful, because the mining companies are smaller and because new legislation has been enacted to strengthen unions. Additionally, some companies have been establishing strong relationships with unions. Glencore Plc’s Collahausi has been meeting with union leaders regularly to establish overlapping interest between the two parties. Another mine, Antofagasta’s Zaldivar, has discussed with the union which work activities can continue in the event of a strike.