UPDATE 2-Chile copper union vows to intensify strike after miner shot dead
UPDATE 2-Chile copper union vows to intensify strike after miner shot dead
Fri Jul 24, 2015 4:47pm EDT
By Fabian Cambero and Gram Slattery
(Reuters) - A Chilean mining contract worker was shot dead by police on Friday during a protest against state-owned copper company Codelco, prompting union leaders to say a four-day strike would intensify.
Contract workers with the Confederation of Copper Workers, or CTC, have blocked roads at Codelco projects around the country demanding the right to negotiate a benefits package similar to that offered to direct Codelco employees.
The CTC did not elaborate on how it would escalate the labor dispute, which has already forced the suspension of operations at Codelco's Salvador mine. Last year the mine produced 54,000 tonnes, or just under 1 percent of the company's total copper output.
"The conflict obviously will keep going and, in fact, it will intensify. We're not going to let the death of our colleague be in vain," CTC President Manuel Ahumada said by telephone.
More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/24/chile-mine-protests-idUSL1N10417Q20150724?rpc=401
