Workers at Chile's Escondida mine voting on contract offer

More than 2,300 workers at the Escondida copper mine in northern Chile are voting on a collective contract proposal presented by operator BHP. 

“The vote began on [July] 29 at 9 in the morning and ends on Thursday, August 1 at 5pm,” confirmed Patricio Tapia, president of the Escondida workers’ union No. 1, which represents more than 95% of the operators and maintenance workers at what is the world’s largest copper mine.

If their demands are not met, the union could call a strike, as happened in 2017 for more than 40 days.

On that occasion, the union demanded bonuses of between 21mn and 25mn pesos per worker [currently up to US$26,000] while a bonus of 17mn pesos for the following year was finally agreed.

In 2021, the union reached another agreement with BHP that involved a bonus of 21mn pesos and a soft loan of 3mn pesos.

The union has called on its members to reject BHP's current contract offer, details of which Tapia preferred to keep confidential. However, local paper El Mercurio reported that the offer involves benefits and bonuses of 20mn pesos and a 1% wage increase.

If a strike is called, either of the parties may request mandatory mediation by the national labor inspectorate, as stipulated in law No. 20,940.

In the 12 months ending June, Escondida recorded its highest copper production in the last four years at 1.13Mt.

For financial year 2025, ending next June, production guidance is 1.18-1.30Mt, which together with high prices could pressure the company to pay bigger bonuses.

The mine, in Antofagasta region, is 57.5% owned by BHP, 30% by Rio Tinto and 12.5% by Japan’s Jeco.