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.
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
I’m Liza Grey, an experienced news writer and author at the Buna Times. I specialize in writing about economic issues, with a focus on uncovering stories that have a positive impact on society. With over seven years of experience in the news industry, I am highly knowledgeable about current events and the ways in which they affect our daily lives.