Escondida copper mine union ends strike, signs deal with BHP

The union at Chile's Escondida copper mine, the world's largest, signed a deal on Sunday with BHP, ending the risk of a further strike that could have threatened global supplies of the red metal.

Earlier in the day the union had sent a memo to members warning it might call another strike if the company did not "rectify its position" over contract talks.

The mine's powerful union, which represents around 2,400 workers, had gone on strike on Tuesday over payment disputes and then come to a preliminary agreement on Friday to end it.

On Friday, BHP said the two sides reached an agreement after resuming talks. Sources at the company and the union told Reuters that BHP offered workers around USD 32,000 as a bonus and an additional USD 2,000 in soft loans.

BHP had previously offered a USD 28,900 bonus per worker, compared with the union’s demand of 1 per cent of shareholder dividends from the mine, or roughly USD 35,000 to USD 36,000 per member. 

The strike, after the union encouraged members to reject BHP's offer, has stirred up memories of the last major Escondida walkout in 2017, which hit BHP's copper production and pushed up global prices of the metal, which is used to make wiring and nearly every single electronic device.