Peru says Cerro Verde must respect strike or pay fine

[struggle4progress]

By Caroline Stauffer and Marco Aquino

LIMA | Tue Oct 11, 2011 4:59pm EDT

(Reuters) - Government labor inspectors said Freeport-McMoRan must stop relying on volunteer workers to keep its Cerro Verde mine in Peru open during a strike or pay a fine, according to documents obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.

Workers have been on strike for 13 days and are demanding higher pay at the mine, which churned out 312,336 tonnes of copper in 2010, or about 2 percent of global supply.

"The company ... must refrain from acts that would impede the exercise of the right to strike by 1,099 workers affiliated with the Cerro Verde union organization and stop replacing the tasks of workers who are on strike," said a report from the labor ministry that was obtained by Reuters.

Labor inspectors indicated the company had reassigned jobs held by union members to other staffers to weather the strike ...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/11/us-peru-freeport-idUSTRE79A6MW20111011