Bloomberg Jan 25--BHP Billiton Plc, Anglo American Plc and Xstrata Plc will meet today for wage talks with workers ahead of a possible vote to strike at the companies’ Colombian coal mine, a union leader said.
The National Union of Coal Industry Workers at the Cerrejon mine will announce results of the workers’ vote on Jan. 27, said Igor Diaz, the group’s president. A walkout may begin as soon as Jan. 30, he said today by telephone from the city of Barranquilla in northern Colombia.
Union workers from Colombia to Chile are seeking higher wages as growth in China fuels demand for coal, copper and gold. Cerrejon, the world’s biggest open-pit mine that produces coal for export, began shipping coal to China last year for the first time after prices rose.
About 3,900 workers represented by the union, known as Sintracarbon, are seeking a wage increase of 9 percent, more than the 6 percent that management has offered as part of a two- year contract, Diaz said.
In a Jan. 18 statement, management said it has made “reasonable” offers to the union. A strike would cost the local economy and government about 5.4 billion pesos （$2.9 million） a day in revenue including royalties and taxes, according to the statement.
Melbourne-based BHP, the world’s largest mining company; London-based Anglo; and Zug, Switzerland-based Xstrata each own 33.3 percent of the mine.
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