Chilean workers at Collahuasi copper mine strike

Unionized Chilean workers at Collahuasi, the world's third most productive copper mine, went on a 24-hour strike Saturday seeking better benefits and an end to alleged anti-union measures by management. The action follows an ongoing strike that began on July 22 at the world's biggest copper mine, Minera Escondida, in northern Chile. "The strike is for 24 hours. We are upset with the company's anti-union measures, the failure to recognize the collective contract and pressure being placed on the workers," Collahuasi union leader Cristian Arancibia told AFP. Some 1,500 Collahuasi employees stopped work at 8:00 am (1200 GMT) Saturday, and is set to resume at the same time Sunday. Arancibia said that management at the mine -- owned jointly by Switzerland-based Xstrata and the Anglo-South African company Anglo American -- is directly negotiating with workers outside of the union contract, "and we are not going to allow that." Collahuasi produces nearly three percent of the world's copper output. Some 535,000 tons of copper were mined at the site in 2009, according to government figures. In December 2010 workers at Collahuasi went on strike for 33 days seeking higher pay. Weeks later, following an accident at the port the mine uses, activity at the mine ceased until April. Separately, some 2,300 workers at the Escondida mine -- in which Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton has a controlling stake -- downed tools last week over unresolved contract disputes. Chile is the world's largest copper producer, with 5.6 million tons annually. More than a million tons a year -- or 6.8 percent of the world production -- are produced at the Escondida mine. On July 11 workers at mines owned by Chile's state copper giant Codelco walked off the job for 24 hours to protest measures that they said were steps toward privatization. Codelco's first strike in 18 years halted work at Chuquicamata -- the world's largest open-pit mine -- El Teniente and Andina. The state-owned operations produce more than 10 percent of the world's copper.