Peru Set To Strike by By Greg Peel, FN Arena June 30th, 2008 |
Some
47 unions in Peru were preparing to strike at midnight on Sunday,
Reuters reports, in order to influence the Peruvian Congress to approve
a law which would eliminate limits on profit sharing. Mine workers have
watched as Peru's economy has boomed over the past six years, but say
they are not getting a fair share of the profits. Workers are
expected to walk off the job at mines owned by Southern Copper,
Freeport McMoran, Barrick Gold, zinc producer Volcan and tin producer
Minsur, among others. Workers at the Casapaica zinc, lead and silver
mine, and the Morococha silver mine, are also planning to block
highways as part of the protest. The
federation of unions in Peru has twice delayed the start of a major
strike this year in order to give Congress more time to discuss a bill
which would lift caps on profit-sharing. The bill would affect some
85,000 workers. Peruvian president Alan Garcia has expressed his
approval for the bill, but congressional leaders have been unable to
reach a consensus. Unions are
also pushing for changes to early retirement rules, a reduced workday,
and the right to enrol in state-run pension funds. Last year Peruvian
unions twice went on strike to pressure Congress into restricting the
use of non-union workers and to gain a greater share of windfall
profits. With energy
and food costs soaring across the globe, worker frustration is likely
to continue building in not only commodity rich areas, but in any area.
Without wishing to question Peruvian mine workers rights to a greater
spoil of the windfalls - Australian mine workers appear to be able to
name their price - wage claims are the next step in a classic
wage-price spiral. It was oil shocked high inflation levels and a
wage-price spiral forced by powerful unions across the globe that
ensured the 1970s was a decade of recession. |