Workers at Peru’s Antamina copper mine have started the strike to demand higher wages.
Antamina union SUTRACOMASA spokesperson Hernan Robles has said that production at the mine has come to a halt and the company will struggle to send copper ore to port for export, reports Reuters.
Earlier this month, mining workers at Antamina copper mine in Peru decided to proceed with industrial action after talks with management ended inconclusively.
Workers are demanding increased profit-sharing from the mine’s revenue.
The decline in revenue over reduced copper prices has been cited as the reason behind Anatamina’s low profit shares for workers, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Antamina said: “Work is being done as planned and in-line with a contingency plan prepared for this situation.
“No labour right or agreement has been breached by Antamina,” reports WSJ.
The mine produces almost 30,000t of copper a month, which comprised almost a third of the country’s output in 2013.
Located in the central Ancash region in Peru, the mine is jointly owned by BHP Billiton (33.75%), Glencore Xstrata (33.75%), Teck Resources (22.5%) and Mitsubishi (10%).
TheSUTRACOMASA union represents 1,630 mine workers of the total 2,860.