Centinela Strike Puts Copper Output and Labor Rights in Focus

Negotiations at Chile’s Centinela copper mine remained stalled on Thursday, October 15. Three workers marked their seventh day on hunger strike, while Antofagasta Minerals reported higher quarterly output. More than 700 workers, represented by the Distrito Centinela and Minera Esperanza unions, are involved in the dispute. Their walkout began on October 7 after contract talks collapsed.

The dispute over equal treatment

The unions say the central issue is alleged differences in pay and benefits for workers doing similar jobs. In a statement, they said the company refused during three days of voluntary mediation to address “a mechanism to end discrimination during the term of the collective agreement.” They said Antofagasta is still presenting a financial offer workers had already rejected.

The unions say the allegations concern workers’ treatment under the collective agreement. They described the issue as alleged violations of fundamental rights to equal treatment and non-discrimination. These claims come from the unions; the provided report doesn’t detail the company’s response to the allegations about pay and benefits.

The sides returned to the negotiating table on Tuesday, hoping to resolve the dispute. By Thursday, the unions reported no progress. Their statement said the proposed financial offer didn’t address what they considered the central issue, while the company said dialogue that week had opened the possibility of an agreement.

Production continues as talks remain open

Antofagasta Minerals said on Wednesday that it had kept production running as planned despite the strike. On Thursday, the company reported that third-quarter copper output had risen 7%. It kept its full-year production forecast at 625,000 to 655,000 metric tons.

The company reaffirmed its willingness to seek an agreement. It also opposed the hunger strike, saying it could put workers’ health and lives at risk. According to the report, three workers were on their seventh day of hunger strike on October 15.

The company’s production update and the unresolved labor dispute unfolded at the same time: the unions said negotiations had made no progress, while Antofagasta said output was running as planned and a deal remained possible. The report doesn’t provide details of the company’s financial offer or quantify any production losses caused by the walkout.

Copper supply concerns

According to the report, the Centinela strike has supported global copper prices, alongside the ultimately averted risk of a supervisors’ stoppage at Escondida. Concern that supply may be difficult to expand enough to meet expected future demand also supported prices.

The dispute sits between two stated concerns: the unions’ allegations about equal treatment and the company’s continued production and forecast. The report identifies Antofagasta Minerals, the two unions, and wider copper supply concerns, but gives no indication that the labor dispute has altered the company’s production forecast. Talks had reopened, yet no breakthrough had been reported by Thursday.