(Bloomberg) -- BHP Group workers in Chile accepted the company’s latest wage proposal, putting an end to strike that had disrupted operations at the world’s biggest copper mine.
In voting that ended Friday most of the 2,400 members of the main union at BHP’s Escondida mine ratified a preliminary accord reached earlier between management and union leaders, according to a statement from the union. The strike had been temporarily lifted to facilitate the vote.
Approval clears the way for the two sides to sign a new three-year labor contract and normalize operations at a site that accounts for about 5% of the world’s mined copper. That’s welcome news at a time of tightness in the supply of copper concentrate — the raw material used to feed smelters.
“The result of this negotiation is extremely satisfactory, as it contains substantial improvements in such long-awaited issues,” the union said in the statement. Workers will receive 33 million pesos (about $35,000) through bonuses and loans.
Escondida, which churns out more than 1 million metric tons a year, has been the scene of lengthy stoppages in the past, including a 44-day strike in 2017.
Workers downed tools Tuesday after failing to reach a wage deal with management in the obligatory phase of collective bargaining. Since then, the two sides have been engaged in on-again, off-again discussions. Negotiations dragged into the early hours of Friday before finally yielding a breakthrough.
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