Centinela Mine Company Holds Line as Workers Strike

Antofagasta Minerals kept production running as planned on Thursday, October 15, even as negotiations with two striking unions at Chile’s Centinela copper mine stalled. Three workers entered their seventh day on hunger strike, while the unions continued to represent more than 700 workers behind the walkout.

Workers Name the Dispute

“So far, after three days of voluntary mediation, the company has refused to address a mechanism to end discrimination during the term of the collective agreement,” the Distrito Centinela and Minera Esperanza unions said in a statement. Workers say the company is sticking to terms they rejected and leaving their central concern unanswered.

The unions said Antofagasta kept presenting a financial offer workers had already rejected. They accused the company of ignoring alleged violations of workers’ fundamental rights to equal treatment and non-discrimination. According to the unions, the dispute involves alleged differences in pay and benefits for workers doing similar jobs at the mine.

The unions launched their walkout on October 7 after contract talks collapsed. The sides returned to the negotiating table on Tuesday to try to resolve the dispute, but no progress had been reported by Thursday. Workers want to know whether a collective agreement can address the unequal treatment they allege, rather than repeat an offer they’ve already turned down.

Three workers chose to go on hunger strike as talks stalled. Antofagasta said it opposed a hunger strike that could put workers’ health and lives at risk. The action puts direct pressure on the company, which reported that production continued as planned.

Production Holds, Talks Don’t

On Thursday, Antofagasta reported a 7% rise in third-quarter output and kept its full-year forecast of 625,000 to 655,000 metric tons of copper. The company said on Wednesday it had managed to keep production running as planned. Output rose even as workers’ claims about pay, benefits and equal treatment remained contested at the negotiating table.

Antofagasta reaffirmed its willingness to seek an agreement, saying dialogue that week had opened the possibility of a deal. But the unions described three days of mediation in which the company didn’t address the mechanism they sought. The company says it’s open to dialogue, yet that position has not produced reported progress on the issue.

A Wider Market Watches

The Centinela strike, along with the ultimately averted risk of a supervisors’ stoppage at Escondida, has supported global copper prices. The market concern cited in the report is whether supply can expand enough to meet expected future demand. Workers’ collective action now figures in the calculation around copper supply, while the company says it has maintained production at Centinela.

The core conflict remains unresolved: the unions say workers doing similar jobs face alleged differences in pay and benefits, while Antofagasta reports higher output and repeats its willingness to reach an agreement. According to the unions, workers have already rejected the company’s offer. Bargaining continues, but the account of Thursday’s talks leaves their stated demand for equal treatment unanswered.