Weekly Report - 11 April 2013 (WR-13-14)

CHILE | Codelco strike. On 9 April all the unions of Chile’s state-owned mining firm, Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, went on a 24-hour strike to demand better working conditions as well as changes to the way that Codelco is being operated. The strike was called by the Federación de Trabajadores del Cobre (FTC), an umbrella union which groups 22 of Codelco’s unions, to protest against the use of temporary contractors; the perceived attempts by Codelco to privatise the health and pension systems; and the firm’s failure to develop the potential of its mines, amid evidence of deteriorating ore grade and production at some of Codelco’s older and larger mines.
    FTC president, Raimundo Espinoza, said that the Codelco management had once again showed an “overbearing, arrogant and inefficient” attitude towards the company and its staff. Espinoza said that the FTC was calling for reform of Chile’s national copper industry, demanding its “re-nationalisation” so that the full benefits from copper mining in Chile go to the Chilean State.
    According to Espinoza currently 70% of Chile’s copper is mined by private firms, which see the majority of revenue resulting from the profitable activity. Espinoza said that if these were instead obtained by the Chilean government, then “we would have a more equal system without students on the streets” – an allusion to the student protests that have affected Chile since 2011.
    Worryingly for the government, Espinoza then called on the Federación Minera de Chile (FMC) to join the strike, an invitation which the FMC accepted, pointing out that it “fully backed the FTC’s demands”.
    This is the second time that Codelco workers have gone on strike since President Sebastián Piñera took office in 2010. The copper industry sustained losses of US$41m as a result of the first strike in July 2011.
    The announcement of the copper mining strike came just as the Piñera government managed to appease the country’s port workers which had been on strike for the previous two weeks causing an estimated US$210m in losses.
    Although the strike was observed by all of the FTC members and was described as “a success” by Espinoza, it was only partially observed by FMC members, which meant that the losses were lower than expected at US$35m. Nevertheless, FTC has warned that it could stage another strike if its demands are not addressed. Codelco’s CEO, Thomas Keller, said he is seeking to establish talks with the FTC to hear their grievances.
    Similarly, on 10 April, Piñera referred to the two recent strikes and called on all Chileans to “react and privilege dialogue and looking for agreement… as only in this way can Chile continue growing, creating more jobs, improving salaries and reducing poverty”.