SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - More than 2,000 workers at the world's largest private copper mine have gone on strike in Chile to protest reductions in their production bonuses.
Union leader Jose Vidal says 2,300 employees at La Escondida mine decided to strike because their monthly bonuses have decreased from 300,000 pesos to 90,000 pesos (from $650 to $195) over the past 10 months.
La Escondida is owned by the Anglo-Australian consortium BHP Billiton Ltd. Guido Cortes is its supervisor of labor relations. He is quoted Saturday by the daily newspaper El Mercurio as saying that the mine will lose $30 million a day from the strike.
Vidal told broadcaster Radio Cooperativa that the mine produces 1.1 million tons of copper annually.