The Colombian government is holding talks with Drummond Co. and its on strike workers in a bid to end a dispute that has halted output at the nation's second-biggest coal producer.
Labor Ministry officials are trying to organize direct talks between the two sides in Santa Marta, on Colombia's Caribbean coast, to broke a deal to end the 10-day strike by Drummond's mine, rail and port workers.
“A deal in the next few days is possible,” union negotiator Humberto Suarez said in an interview in Santa Marta. Strikers could return to work as early as next week if the company agrees to pay workers a monthly salary rather than by the hour, Suarez said.
Colombia, South America's biggest supplier of coal, is losing roughly 1.6 billion pesos (USD 850,000) in royalties for every day as the strike continues, according the national mining agency. Workers are striking over pay, working conditions and health benefits, according to Sintramienergetica union.
In 2012, Drummond produced 26 Mnt of coal, according to the national mining agency, or roughly 29% of Colombia's total output.
The strike, which started July 23, is the second major industrial dispute to hit the nation's coal sector this year. Workers at Cerrejon, Colombia's biggest coal mine owned by BHP Billiton Plc (BLT), Xstrata Plc (GLEN) and Anglo American Plc. (AAL), went on strike for more than a month starting February 7 after failing to reach a wage agreement with management.
That strike, and Drummond's 3-week loss of its loading license after a sinking barge dumped coal into the Caribbean, cut first quarter economic growth by half a percentage point, according to Finance Ministry estimates.
The central bank cited “paralysis” in coal mining in its decision to cut interest rates by a quarter point in February. Colombia has cut its policy rate by 2 percentage points over the last 13 months.
– Sourced
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