HomeWorldChile: Unions paralyze Codelco,...

Chile: Unions paralyze Codelco, the world’s largest copper company

Codelco workers protest against the government’s decision to close their operations at the Ventanitas copper smelter. | Font: EFE | Photographer: Cristoba Bazaure, Cristoba Bazaure

More than 45,000 workers of the Chilean National Copper Company, Kodelkotoday joined a nationwide strike organized by trade unions to protest the closure of Windows Foundry, one of the 18 companies that have made Quintero Puchnkavi Bay one of the most polluted places in South America.

The coercive measure coincided this Wednesday with the announcement by Finance Minister Mario Marseille of the signing of a reinvestment plan that provides for an infusion of an average of 30% of profits corresponding to four years and aims to prevent Windows Foundry operators from losing their jobs.

At a press conference, along with the aforementioned minister and company chairman Maximo Pacheco, Codelco’s acting chief executive Andre Sugarre denied that production had been paralyzed and assured that there was only “some interruption” in the shift change in the early morning hours.

“Since this was announced, we have taken all measures in terms of ensuring, firstly, the safety of people and, secondly, the continuity of operations,” Sugarre said.

The minister himself spoke in the same vein, emphasizing that “there is no stoppage of work.”

Unemployment “total”

Amador Pantoja, one of those responsible for Copper Federation (FTC), insisted in local media that the strike was “total”.

“Currently we have reports from other divisions Kodelko such as Chuquicamata (North), Gabriela Mistral (North), Radomiro Tomic (North), El Salvador (North), Andina (Middle) and El Teniente (Middle), indicating full support for the shutdown and solidarity with Windows workers.” , the FTC said in a statement this morning.

Trade unions say this is an “impromptu decision” by President Gabriel Boric, who already during his election campaign promised to put an end to this and other industrial “sacrifice areas” where human life is no longer healthy.

And it comes just two weeks after a new peak of excessive pollution poisoned nearly 150 people, mostly children, forcing schools to close and everyday life to a standstill again.

Mining accounts for about 10% of Chile's national gross domestic product (GDP).
Mining accounts for about 10% of Chile’s national gross domestic product (GDP). | Font: Chile

Barricades and blocking traffic

At dawn, representatives of 26 trade unions gathered around the mentioned industrial strip, erecting barricades, setting fire to firewood and tires, trying to block traffic and access to work units.

According to the FTC, the decision by the state giant’s board of directors and the government “does not measure the social impact it has on the community that lived around this industry in the bays of Quintero and Puchunkavi.”

“The start of the closure (of the Ventanas Copper Smelter) is not supported or substantiated by any ‘technical, scientific or academic’ report demonstrating a causal relationship between the release of sulfur dioxide and the contamination and poisoning of people,” the report says. the organization said in a statement.

In addition, they confirmed from the FTC, the decision to close “does not affect any of the other companies in the industrial complex and therefore constitutes arbitrary discrimination against state company employees.”

ecological sacrificial zone

The Bay of Quintero Puchuncavi, located 160 km northwest of Santiago, was declared in 1993 an “ecological sacrificial zone” – an 8-kilometer unhealthy strip of beach where 18 plants concentrate emissions into the atmosphere and the sea of ​​pollutants that are incompatible with human life.

Since 2005, according to the government Kodelko The company has invested almost $156 million in compliance with various environmental regulations, and this money has not been used to reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions.

Executive calculations show that an additional $1,150 million will be needed to bring it into line with international standards.

Chile, the world’s leading red metal exporter, accounts for 28% of the world’s copper production and is home to giants such as BHP, Anglo American and Antofagasta Minerals. (EFE)


Source: RPP

- A word from our sponsors -

Most Popular

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

More from Author

- A word from our sponsors -

Read Now

The DPRK was promised by the “unclear” Poddjakke of Russia in the war against Ukraine

Russian military criminal, secretary of the Russian Council Sergey Shayga, visited Phogyan, where he met with Kim Jong. He promised him that the DPRK would support Russia, in particular, in the war against Ukraine. The parties discussed a joint operation in the Kursk...

In Pryluky, RF Postal House -Topl in the leader of the leader

In Pryluky, a hostile drone hit the house of the head of the local fire department. .in_text_content_22 {width: 300px; Height: 600px; } @Media (min-width: 600px) {.in_text_content_22 {width: 580px; Height: 400px; }} .Adsbygoogle {Touch-Action: Manipulation; } His family was killed: his wife,...

Russians were pushed to Constant and could be shot by a garden from artillery

The Russians have advanced towards Konstantinovka and are already shooting from artillery Ukrainian positions near the city. This is indicated in the report of the Institute of Military Research (ISW). .in_text_content_22 {width: 300px; Height: 600px; } @Media (min-width: 600px) {.in_text_content_22 {width: 580px; Height: 400px;...