UPDATE 1-Union strikes at Southern Copper Peru Cuajone mine

[BIG BROTHER]

Sendero Luminoso may have been long defeated but Peru's proletarians are still on the offensive:D. Not surprisingly Peru's reactionary government has taken the bourgeoisie's side.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUKN1737441220080617



UPDATE 1-Union strikes at Southern Copper Peru Cuajone mine

Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:02pm BST
(Adds details on Ilo, quotes, size of strike)
By Maria Luisa Palomino
LIMA, June 17 (Reuters) - Workers at Southern Copper's (PCU.N: Quote (http://uk.reuters.com/stocks/quote?symbol=PCU.N), Profile (http://uk.reuters.com/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=PCU.N), Research (http://uk.reuters.com/stocks/researchReports?symbol=PCU.N))(SPC.LM: Quote (http://uk.reuters.com/stocks/quote?symbol=SPC.LM), Profile (http://uk.reuters.com/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=SPC.LM), Research (http://uk.reuters.com/stocks/researchReports?symbol=SPC.LM)) Cuajone mine went on strike to demand better benefits, a union official said on Tuesday, as a week-long blockade over mining taxes deepened in Peru's Moquegua province.
The strike is slated to last for 48 hours, according to union leader Roman More. He said about 280 of 500 union workers have downed tools at the mine in Peru, the world's second-largest copper.
"It's just Cuajone for now," More said, explaining that the strike action does not include the Ilo smelter, also located in Moquegua province.
But Ilo is running low on supplies.
Southern's Chief Executive, Oscar Gonzalez, told Reuters on Monday that Ilo could be paralyzed in the next week if road blocks across Moquegua drag on. Residents demand their province receive a bigger share of taxes paid by company.
The Cuajone mine of Southern Copper, Peru's biggest copper producer, churned out 148,936 tonnes of the red metal last year.
The strike comes as Peru's third-largest copper pit, Cerro Verde (CVE.LM: Quote (http://uk.reuters.com/stocks/quote?symbol=CVE.LM), Profile (http://uk.reuters.com/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=CVE.LM), Research (http://uk.reuters.com/stocks/researchReports?symbol=CVE.LM)), was in its eighth day of a labor walkout, union leader Leoncio Amudio said.
"We are continuing to act against the company's intransigence," he said.
The mine's owner, Freeport-McMoRan (FCX.N: Quote (http://uk.reuters.com/stocks/quote?symbol=FCX.N), Profile (http://uk.reuters.com/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=FCX.N), Research (http://uk.reuters.com/stocks/researchReports?symbol=FCX.N)), has said production remains steady and that the government has declared the walkout illegal, meaning laborers could eventually lose their jobs if they fail to return to work in coming days. (Writing by Terry Wade; Editing by Marguerita Choy)



This report kinda sucks, but I saw yesterday in the news, that the strikers have had confrontations with the police, but the strikers fought back with sticks and stones and even have captured some policemen.

[Herman]

This should go in the "Worker's Actions" forum.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Class struggle is heating up in Peru. This is from February: Strike breaks out; Class struggle intensifies in Peru (http://powr-prm.org/cuscostrikefeb2008.html)

[BIG BROTHER]

This should go in the "Worker's Actions" forum.

thanks for moving it, sorry:blushing:

But yea, this isn't just one little unimportant strike, but a real example of class struggle, with real violent clashes.

here's an update on the strike and on the clashes with the police:

http://209.85.171.104/translate_c?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml%3Fchid%3D3%26schid%3D181%26secid%3D1 87%26cid%3D1570916

[BIG BROTHER]

Well, I just saw on TV that the workers released the police officers.

[zelda]

What on earth drove them to hold police officers prisoner? Isn't that going to be harder on them?

[BIG BROTHER]

What on earth drove them to hold police officers prisoner? Isn't that going to be harder on them?

The police tried to break the strike, all they did was fight back, they let them go already though, so it doesn't matter anymore.

[Luís Henrique]

Sendero Luminoso may have been long defeated but Peru's proletarians are still on the offensive:D.

"But"?

Rather, the Peruvian proletariat seems to be retaking its ability to struggle. Probably, among other causes, because it is now rid of those anti-worker criminals.

Luís Henrique