Employers and employees of Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, start salary negotiations

The union at BHP Billiton's Escondida copper mine in Chile said on Friday that it had submitted a preliminary proposal for a new collective wage agreement, marking the official start of wage negotiations at the world's largest copper mine by copper reserves.

BHP Billiton also confirmed that it had received a preliminary salary proposal from the union and that the company needed to provide feedback on the union's proposal within 10 days.

The wage negotiations come against the backdrop of a surge in international copper prices because of tight supply but a sharp increase in demand, which has emboldened workers to demand higher wages.

The mining union said in a statement that the current macroeconomic environment is very favorable for the union.

The union requires the management to provide an one-time signing bonus, which is equivalent to 1% of the shareholder dividend, and a 5% increase in the new contract in order to build a "fair and objective" career development system. and an ongoing performance-based bonus system for workers.

Shareholders in the mine include BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Jeco Corporation.

The union says it will insist on these demands because the results will affect not only the company and workers, but also the country as a whole. There is no reason why BHP Billiton cannot meet the demands of its workers.

Workers at BHP's remote operation union, which serves the Escondida mine and the smaller Spence mine, have been on strike since Thursday, putting pressure on the company's operating environment.

The 200-member union operates BHP's integrated operations centre and remotely manages mines and concentrators in San Diego.

BHP Billiton gathered substitute workers earlier this week to maintain mine operations and said the strikes had not affected production.