BHP workers at world’s largest copper mine claim pay dispute ‘victory’

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UNION workers at BHP’s Escondida copper mine in Chile, the largest copper mine in the world, have called off a strike after agreeing to a pay agreement with the Australian mining giant.

Negotiations reopened last week between BHP and 2,400 members of Union No.1, which demanded a 1% shareholder bonus, equivalent to US$36,000 per member, reports Reuters.

BHP, which made a profit of US$6.6bn in the second half of 2023, has offered US$32,000 per member, with US$2,000 in soft loans, which the union has accepted.

Marco Lopez, a lawyer for Union No.1, said: “I feel this is the greatest recent union victory in terms of results.”

He added: “Not just because of the economic part, but substantial improvements in historic demands we hadn't been able to achieve (before)."

These demands included support for worker security, with union president Patricio Tapia telling Reuters that negotiations included health benefits, bonuses, and help for workers who may lose their jobs due to outsourcing.

Past disputes

BHP produced 1.8m t of copper in the financial year ending June 2024, the majority of which was produced in Chile, via its two mines, Escondida and Pampa Norte.

The Escondida mine, which represents 3% of the country’s GDP, produced around 1.1m t of ore in the 2024 financial year, with Pampa Norte producing 265,000 t.  

In 2017, around 2,300 union workers went on strike for 44 days in the longest strike in Chile’s mining history. BHP lost around US$740m.

A further strike was expected to lose BHP around US$25m to US$35m a day.