Codelco unions federation rejects privatisation proposal
SANTIAGO – Workers at state-owned Chilean copper behemoth Codelco have rejected a suggestion by a coalition partner of President Sebastian Pinera that the company be sold off to fund the response to the coronavirus pandemic.
An internal document attributed to the far-right Independent Democratic Union (UDI) party and leaked to Chilean media suggested the privatization among a series of measures to raise money for the fiscus.
But the Federation of Copper Workers (FTC), which groups together unions of the world's largest copper miner, firmly rejected the measure.
The union would "bring Codelco to a halt before accepting any privatization attempt," the FTC said in a statement.
The debate over the privatization of Codelco has been extensively debated by different groups over the years without conclusion.
The UDI internal document highlighted that the company, nationalized in 1971 by the socialist president Salvador Allende and which now turns over all of its profits to the state, in 2014 had a market value of about $50.5 billion.
"Privatizing the company would generate a very relevant income for the state, which could be used for social benefits. Moreover, privatization could continue generating income for the state through the collection of taxes and royalties," the document said.
The Chilean government has announced a series of social measures to support poor and working-class Chileans since the outbreak of the coronavirus in March, worth an estimated 12% of gross domestic product. Chile has recorded some 350,000 cases of the coronavirus and more than 9,000 confirmed deaths.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Supplier & Distributor of the Widest Range of Accurate & Easy-to-Use Alcohol Breathalysers
VISIT SHOWROOM
Our Easy Access Chute concept was developed to reduce the risks related to liner maintenance. Currently, replacing wear liners require that...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
