Miners at a number of major Peruvian mining companies were due to start a 24-hour strike today over proposed legislation on pension and bonus issues. “The only way the government listens to us is when we go on strike. We’ve been working with Congress on this legislation for three years to no avail,” Luis Castillo, the Mining Federation’s general secretary told Bloomberg. The group, representing 28,000 workers and 70 unions, is pushing Congress to lower the age of miners who qualify for a pension to 50 years from 55 years and increase the share of profits to 10 percent from 8 percent.
According to the association, Minsur SA, owners of Peru’s only tin mine, was one of nine major companies targeted for strike action today. However ITRI understands that Minsur’s unions have not joined the strike. The company’s San Rafael mine produces 40,000 tpy of tin.
