Catherwood LibraryILR School

A strike at the world's third largest copper mine is in it's fourteenth day. On the fifteenth day, union members can return to work without the union fining them. The company has offered a $29,000 bonus to workers who return on Friday, as well as a pay raise of about 16%. Union leaders have rejected the offer, saying that it was not enough. If the strike continues past Thursday, the chances of the mine giving in to union demands greatly increases. The union has said that they believe output at the mine was around 20% of normal outputs. The mine has not given out exact output figures, but says that output is normal for a contingency plan. Most experts say that while the mine planned well for the strike, but is most likely not running at anywhere close to full output. The strike is the longest since a 26 day strike at Escondida in 2006.