Union calls for bonus as proceeds from profit-sharing agreement shrink
Jorge Juarez, secretary general of the Antamina union SUTRACOMASA, told Reuters by phone from the mine that the stoppage would halt copper output that had been running at about 30,000 tonnes per month.
Talks between the union and management last week ended without an agreement over workers' demands.
Antamina has said that its profit-sharing plan with employees has been hit by falling copper production and weaker mineral prices and that it will continue to seek a resolution to the dispute.
BHP Billiton and Glencore Xstrata each have 33.75 per cent stakes in Antamina. Teck Resources holds 22.5 per cent and Mitsubishi Corp 10 per cent.
Antamina, also Peru's biggest zinc miner, contributes about 30 per cent to the South American country's copper output.
Peru is the world's third biggest copper producer.
