Union at BHP’s Escondida copper mine in Chile signs new deal, ending risk of strike By Reuters

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – The union of workers at Chile’s Escondida mine, the world’s largest, signed a deal on Sunday with BHP, ending a strike that could have threatened global supplies of the red metal.

The three-year deal includes changes to working conditions such as “initiatives to improve shift changes, increase equipment utilization and comply with the 40-hour rule,” BHP said in a statement announcing the deal.

An internal union message, seen by Reuters, asked members to return to work.

The powerful miners’ union went on strike on Tuesday over pay disputes and then reached a preliminary agreement on Friday that suspended the strike.

Earlier today, the union sent a memo to members warning them it could resume the strike if the company does not “correct its position” on contract talks.

BHP’s statement did not provide any further details about the agreement with the union. But earlier this week, company and union sources told Reuters that BHP had offered workers about $32,000 in bonuses and an additional $2,000 in soft loans.

BHP had previously offered a bonus of $28,900 per worker, compared with the union’s demands for 1% of shareholder profits from the mine, or roughly $35,000 to $36,000 per member.

Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange rose 1% to $9,211 on Monday amid a firmer tone across metals.