Copper Miners in Chile Stand Up to Government Cuts

For the first time in almost 20 years, miners in Chile are on strike against Codelco, the largest copper company in the world. Concerned over job and benefit losses as a result of a restructuring plan introduced by President Sebastián Piñera, the Copper Miners’ Union launched a 24-hour protest on July 11. Scheduling the protest intentionally on the 40-year anniversary of the privatization of Chile’s mining sector, union leaders “warned that this recent strike is only the first” if the government refuses to take the union’s demands seriously. While protests did not significantly impact the copper industry in general, lack of production dropped Codelco’s copper output by USD 40 million in the single day strike.