Unions at Chile's Escondida mine reject bid to pause contract talks after worker's death

By Reuters News

By Fabian Cambero

Sept 25 (Reuters) - Unions at Chile's Escondida copper mine, the world's largest, pushed back on Friday after management sought to pause contract talks with unionized supervisors and staff following a fatal accident earlier this week.

The company, in an internal note seen by Reuters, said it had asked for a temporary suspension of negotiations after the worker's death. The unions rejected the request, meaning talks will continue on schedule.

"We condemn the company for using this tragedy to seek a suspension of the ongoing collective bargaining process, especially when (unions) have repeatedly warned about poor safety conditions at the site," the supervisors' union said in a statement.

Operations at Escondida, in Chile's northern Atacama Desert, were halted after the accident, then gradually resumed on Thursday while the causes remained under investigation. In Chile, mines can normally restart after a fatal accident once safety inspectors confirm that conditions are safe.

Union 1, which represents rank-and-file workers, called it "unacceptable" that much of the mine's activity continued after the accident and said only part of the operation was halted after intervention by mining regulator Sernageomin.

It also rejected the company's attempt to pause the supervisors' contract talks.

"This request appears to be nothing more than a delaying tactic, which we categorically reject. A worker's death cannot be turned into a tool or an argument for other ends," Union 1 said.

Unionized supervisors are due to vote from September 28 to September 30 on the company's latest contract offer. Their union has urged members to reject it, a move that could open the door to a strike.

BHP BHP.AX operates Escondida. Rio Tinto RIO.L holds a 30% stake, while Japan-based JECO owns 12.5%.

Capital.com is an execution-only brokerage platform and the content provided on the Capital.com website is intended for informational purposes only and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the products or securities to which it applies. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided.

The information provided does not constitute investment advice nor take into account the individual financial circumstances or objectives of any investor. Any information that may be provided relating to past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results or performance.

To the extent permitted by law, in no event shall Capital.com (or any affiliate or employee) have any liability for any loss arising from the use of the information provided. Any person acting on the information does so entirely at their own risk.

Any information which could be construed as “investment research” has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication.