BL: Codelco Shuts El Teniente Again After Bus Attacks (Update1)
By Heather Walsh
May 4 (Bloomberg) -- Chile's state-run Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, said it halted production at its El Teniente mine after a one-day restart as striking contract workers attacked buses carrying company employees.
Production at the mine in central Chile may resume later today or tomorrow, a company official said today by telephone. The shutdown may last until May 6, Pablo Reyes, a union leader for mine employees, said in a telephone interview.
Codelco's production has been cut since employees of contractors at its mines went on strike on April 16 to demand bonuses and benefits. The supply disruption has led to losses of almost $100 million at Codelco, as of April 29, and contributed to a 26 percent gain in copper prices this year in New York.
The Confederation of Copper Workers, which organized the strike, is studying a government proposal to return to work and end the protests, a spokeswoman for the group, Dolores Cautivo, said. No accord will be reached today, she said in a telephone interview.
Codelco's smallest mine, El Salvador, remains shut today because striking workers are blocking roadways to the division. Andina, a mine in central Chile, resumed production this weekend for the first time since the strike began, Codelco said yesterday.
Contractors are hired by Codelco for construction, maintenance, cleaning industrial sites and running restaurants and providing other services. There are more than 30,000 contractor workers at Codelco's mines, while the company has 17,000 employees.
Codelco's mining employees aren't taking part in the contract workers' strike. At El Teniente, those unions said they stopped working out of safety concerns because strikers attacked buses carrying union employees to the division.
El Teniente produced almost a quarter of Codelco's copper last year, while El Salvador generated 3.8 percent.
To contact the reporter on this story: Heather Walsh in Santiago at hlwalsh@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: May 4, 2008 15:15 EDT
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