Colombia Miners Say Sweetened Offer May Help Avert Strike
- Ferro-nickel output at risk as sides meet before deadline
- Proposal of 7% wage hike is closer to demands from union
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The main union at South32 Ltd.’s Cerro Matoso mine in Colombia, the world’s second-biggest source of ferro-nickel production, said there’s a greater chance of reaching a three-year wage agreement and avoiding a strike after management sweetened its offer.
Cerro Matoso is offering workers a 7 percent raise this year, plus inflation-linked increases in 2017 and 2018. The proposal is much closer to union demands for 7.5 percent, though still short, union President Domingo Hernandez said. The union is seeking raises matching inflation plus 1.5 percent in 2017 and 2018.