Almost 30,000 Chilean miners go on 24-hour strike

Some 29,000 Chilean miners have staged a 24-hour work strike at the world’s top copper producer, demanding greater safety and job security.

Union leader say that the Tuesday strike includes employees at the state miner Codelco and other private mining companies.

“We said enough is enough, we need to find solutions … we’ve had more than 70 comrades die since” October 2010, said head of the Federation of Copper Workers umbrella union group Raimundo Espinoza.

Workers at Codelco are demanding to keep having access to the government health care system, better retirement conditions as well as improved job stability guarantees.

Union leaders say that they have fears of being replaced by subcontract workers, laid off, or having their benefits cut as Chilean mining companies are battling increasing prices, falling ore grades and energy woes.

Subcontracted workers, who are also included in the strike, want better work conditions since they earn only 30 percent compared to full-fledged salaried workers at Codelco.

This comes as most ports in Chile returned to normal operations on Saturday, after experiencing an extended port strike that stopped shipments, including copper exports.

Chile produces 33 percent of the world’s total copper production, with an estimated output of 5.58-million tons for this year, an average of about 15,000 tons per day.

On October 13, 2010, after being trapped 700 meters (2,300 ft) underground for 69 days, 33 miners were successfully rescued at the San Jose Mine near Copiapo, Chile.