Workers at the world's No. 3 copper mine, Chile's Collahuasi, put down their tools over unmet labor demands on Saturday, compounding worker unrest as a strike at top global copper mine Escondida entered a ninth day, according to Reuters. Workers at Collahuasi voted to strike for 24 hours, but may extend the stoppage if the mine operator fails to address their demands, union leader Jacqueline Cerda told Reuters. Repeated labor action in top copper producer Chile has fueled supply worries and spurred global copper prices. Escondida, majority owned by BHP Billiton, extracts 7 percent of the world's copper, while Collahuasi accounts for 3.3 percent. While markets fear a contagion, the strike at Collahuasi, owned jointly by Xstrata and Anglo American, appeared to be an isolated example -- unions at other mines said they have no plans for immediate stoppages. Collahuasi mine operator said it continued to operate with workers who did not join the action. "The company's union pushed for this illegal mine stoppage of 24 hours, which was abided by a group of workers," the operator said in a statement. A union leader said operations were down and that most workers are angry over the way their production bonuses are calculated and believe they should be larger. "Just like in Escondida our union workers are very distrustful and are asking their leaders for more action to address their demands," the Collahuasi union said in its online publication Atipana. Collahuasi and Escondida produce nearly a third of all the mined copper in Chile, or about 4,400 tonnes a day. Escondida workers on Friday rejected a new compensation offer from BHP, but acknowledged they were close to a deal and were deadlocked over a bonus demand. COPPER PRICES Labor negotiations in Chile have turned more volatile in recent years as worker demands have increased with copper prices near record highs. Collahuasi workers staged a 32-day strike six months ago over a new wage contract -- the longest labor stoppage ever at a major private mine in Chile. A series of labor protests, accidents and bad weather has curbed the mine's output. Higher copper prices have emboldened workers from Indonesia to Zambia and Chile to demand a bigger slice of the record earnings of global giants like BHP, Freeport McMoran and Anglo American. Copper prices in London jumped early on Friday to three-month highs on supply fears stemming from Escondida. But copper gave back most of those gains later on concern about the U.S. economy and a potential default as Washington faces an Aug. 2 deadline to raise its debt ceiling. The Escondida strike took Chile by surprise, coming outside the collective wage agreement process, and is seen raising the possibility of more unpredictable labor action. A mining union federation representing 11,000 workers at private mines in Chile threatened on Saturday a wave of protests if any worker at Collahuasi or Escondida is fired. the strikes come on the heels of a 24-hour workers stoppage by state copper giant Codelco, where unions demand a bigger say in the restructuring of the world's top copper mining company. Escondida has declared force majeure -- a clause that frees it of liability for shipment delays -- on most of its output this week. It said the length of the force majeure hinged on the strike. Some in the copper industry fear that if BHP agrees to demands for a higher bonus, workers at other mines in Chile could make similar demands.
