Escondida supervisers agree on labour deal, strike threat averted

17th October 2020 By: Reuters

The union of supervisers at BHP's Escondida mine in Chile on Friday said it had reached an agreement on a labour deal, averting the threat of a strike at the world´s largest copper deposit.

The new contract with the mine operator was approved in a 58% to 41% vote by the union´s members.

Supervisers at the sprawling Escondida mine last week rejected BHP's final offer in contract negotiations, but talks nonetheless continued through this week ahead of the agreement.

BHP did not immediately comment on the deal.

Several labour negotiations at mines in Chile, the world´s top copper producer, have supported copper prices in recent weeks.

Escondida produced 1.19-million tons of copper in 2019.