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Escondida contract workers to file lawsuit against management

Richard — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:05:53 +0000

Contract workers at Chile’s Escondida copper mine in northern region II will submit a lawsuit against management for anti-union practices.

Since its creation at the beginning of June, Escondida’s contract workers federation – which is comprised of around 9,000 workers – has been asking management to discuss their demands regarding improvements to camp conditions and the quarterly production bonus.

BHP Billiton controls 57.5% of Escondida. Rio Tinto owns 30% while two JVs led by Mitsubishi hold the remainder.

See http://www.bnamericas.com/news/mining/escondida-contract-workers-to-file-lawsuit-against-management/260836577.

Two-week strike ends at Escondida in Chile

Richard — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:34:32 +0000

A strike at Escondida, the world’s biggest copper mine, started on July 21. It sparked stoppage threats at other mines across Chile, the globe’s's top copper producer. (Workers at Collahuasi, the world’s third most productive copper mine, also went on a 24 hour strike).

Escondida posted net profits of US$1.031bn in the first quarter of 2011, reaping benefits for BHP Billiton (which owns 57.5% of the mine), for Rio Tinto (with 30%) and two Joint Venturers, led by Mitsubishi.

Collahuasi is jointly owned by Anglo American and Xstrata.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11102.

Escondida workers to file lawsuits against management

Richard — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:19:00 +0000

The workers’ union at Chile’s Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, submitted a series of lawsuits against the company’s management early on July 27 as a conflict over alleged violations of the collective labor agreement and a fiscal year bonus continued to escalate.

“The company is not willing to talk with workers regarding violations of the collective labour agreement and to negotiate the fiscal year bonus. As a result, we are taking this conflict to court to find a solution,” the secretary of workers’ union number 1, Marcelo Tapia, told BNamericas.

BHP Billiton owns 57.5% of the mine and Rio Tinto owns 30%.

See http://www.bnamericas.com/news/mining/escondida-workers-to-file-lawsuits-against-management/255379838.

BHP Billiton: undermining the future

Richard — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:34:21 +0000

Alternative Report on world’s biggest mining company

BHP Billiton, the world’s largest diversified resources company – producing oil as well as coal, copper, diamonds, iron ore, manganese, nickel, uranium and a number of other minerals – boasts of a strong reputation for corporate responsibility. Communities affected by its operations may well believe that such a reputation is unjustified. But at its London AGM on 29 October, the company failed to engage seriously with its critics, simply assuring them that their concerns would be investigated – even though the company has already been made aware of them time and time again.

The company’s annual report, available on its corporate website, paints a very positive picture of the company’s operations. Many of the company’s critics have produced an alternative report, putting the other side of the picture. Read the alternative report at http://www.piplinks.org/system/files/BHP+Billiton+Alternative+Report.pdf.