The Financial Post reports in its Monday edition that miners in Peru have voted to approve a national strike in June to protest new labour rules. A Reuters dispatch to the Post says that the move by members of the National Federation of Miners, Metallurgists and Steelworkers (NFMMS) is another blow for Freeport-McMoRan, the majority owner of the country's largest copper mine, Cerro Verde, which was hit by a three-week strike in March.
Zenon Mujica, secretary general of the union representing Cerro Verde workers, told Reuters that union members had decided to adhere to the planned strike. Union leaders would meet in early June to set a date for the strike. NFMMS secretary-general Ricardo Juarez said the strike was a protest "against the new labour rules that reduce workers' rights that the government is trying to impose."
The NFMMS was an umbrella group for hundreds of unions representing workers at some of the country's largest mines owned by companies including Barrick and BHP Billiton. Peru is a globally significant copper, zinc, silver and gold producer, and the government wants to maintain its attractiveness for mining investment. Barrick closed Friday at $22.06, up five cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
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