BHP's Escondida mine in Chile will begin a strike on Wednesday after mediation
over a new collective labour agreement failed, the mine's supervisory workers'
union said. The union said BHP ended talks and refused to engage, blaming the
company and its negotiating committee for the breakdown. The union said its
final offer included 90% of the company's proposal plus key demands including
pay rises and production bonuses; it accused BHP of seeking relinquishment of
core benefits and requiring sharing of private biometric data with third
parties. The dispute has run for weeks and the union warned the strike could
tighten global copper supply and support copper prices.
