Peruvian mining workers strike |
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Mon, 30 Apr 2007 23:04
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LIMA, Peru (AP) - Thousands of Peruvian miners began a nationwide strike Monday, demanding higher wages and more benefits, the country's largest mining union said.The government played down the strike as several of the country's most important mines -- including Latin America's largest gold mine -- continued to operate normally.Labor Minister Susana Pinilla called the strike a 'failure,' and told CPN Radio that 'the principal mining centers don't have a single worker on strike.'The National Federation of Mining, Metallurgy and Steel Workers, which represents some 22,000 miners, said the strike is indefinite.Luis Castillo, the union's secretary general, said workers will march through the capital, Lima, on Wednesday, after the May 1 Labor Day holiday.Workers walked off the job after talks between miners and the government collapsed Sunday. The workers are also demanding increased profit sharing and the unionization of subcontracted workers.'We didn't want to get to this situation, but we have seen today that there is no intention to solve the main points of the request,' Castillo told The Associated Press by telephone.A spokesman for Minera Yanacocha said that its workers have not joined the strike and that they are operating normally.The company is Latin America's largest gold producer and majority owned by Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp.But Guillermo Nina, a spokesman for Yanacocha's miners said they will analyze whether they will join the protest later this week.Activities at the Southern Copper Corp.'s mines -- one of the largest copper miners in the world -- were partially suspended. But company spokesmen said temporary non-union miners were contracted and production was not affected.Peru is the world's largest silver producer, and the fifth-largest gold producer. The Andean country is also the third-largest producer of copper and zinc.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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