(Bloomberg) -- BHP Group Ltd. and workers in Chile resolved a last-minute disagreement over benefits that had threatened to upend a wage deal and reignite a strike at the world’s biggest copper mine.
Management and union leaders signed a new three-year contract for about 2,400 workers at the Escondida mine after ending a dispute over benefits, the world’s biggest miner said in a statement.
In a surprise final twist in the months-long negotiation process, union leaders told members that a draft of the new contract delivered to authorities by BHP wasn’t in line with a broad agreement reached Friday, the union said in a statement. That saw the two sides return to the negotiating table ahead of a deadline of 8 p.m. on Sunday in Chile.
Avoiding the resumption of a strike at a site that accounts for about 5% of the world’s mined copper is welcome news at a time of tightness in the supply of copper concentrate — the raw material used to feed smelters. The mine, which churns out more than 1 million tons a year, has been the scene of lengthy stoppages in the past, including a 44-day strike in 2017.
The new contract includes benefits and changes that will allow Escondida to increase productivity, BHP said. “With this, the operation prepares to implement the strategic projects in its growth plan.”
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