Codelco subcontractors are prepared to wage “any battle”

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SANTIAGO.- Subcontracted employees, whose protests took a toll on Codelco´s production last year, have said they are prepared to wage “any battle” after having approved a strike that could come into effect at any moment. 

The copper markets are paying close attention to actions being taken by the subcontracted workers at Codelco, the world’s largest producer of the red metal. 

On the eve on the VII World Copper Conference being held in Santiago, Cristián Cuevas ---president of the Confederation of Copper Workers (CTC)— told Reuters that the group will continue demonstrations to ensure that subcontracted workers have the same benefits as the employees hired directly by the company. 

The workers, who during mid-2007 held (occasionally violent) protests for a little over a month, managed to sit down with Codelco in order to sign an agreement halting demonstrations and establishing employment benefits. 

The subcontracted workers now maintain that the agreements reached have not been fulfilled, while the state mining company indicates otherwise.