London 01/09/2016 - Workers at Anglo American's Los Bronces mine in Chile have said they will strike in response to the company's end-of-contract bonus offer.
If the proposed strike happens, it will be the first time in the mine's history that workers there have taken industrial action against the company, sources in Chile said.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was last $9 higher at $4,618 per tonne, having dropped steadily from a $4,990 peak in July.
"Under the regulated collective bargaining process... between Anglo American and unions of Los Bronces, workers voted to reject the latest offer from the company," an Anglo American representative said.
"The company regrets this outcome and calls workers to consider the latest offer presented as a fair proposal in the current context of mining," he added.
A total of 85 percent of Los Bronces' 1,725-strong workforce voted in favour of strike.
Los Bronces produced more than 400,000 tonnes of copper in 2015, some seven percent of Chile's total production, according to statistics from the Chilean Copper Commission.
Anglo American had offered unions at Los Bronces an 'end of conflict bonus' of 8.5 million pesos (around $12,700) per worker and soft loans of 2 million pesos last week but FastMarkets understands it raised its offer to 9 million pesos in recent days.
This follows news that some unionised workers have also voted to strike at the El Salvador copper mine owned by Chile's Codelco.
Contract renegotiations have become the main focus of the Chilean copper industry, which is responsible for much of global supply. Soft prices have meant that companies are unwilling to offer generous terms to workers while trying to cut costs.
(Editing by Mark Shaw)