Colombia nickel miners accept offer to end strike

Colombia nickel miners accept offer to end strike

Unionized workers at Colombia’s Cerro Matoso ferronickel mine accepted a company offer on Sunday to end a four-week strike that has hit global nickel prices, a labor union leader said.

BHP Billiton , which operates the mine in northern province of Cordoba, declared force majeure on Friday on nickel deliveries from Cerro Matoso because of the strike over contract conditions of workers.

Sintracerramatoso union president, Roger Herrera, said an assembly voted to lift the protest at the mine run by BHP Billiton and the strike will officially end when commissions from the company and union sign an accord.

“We now have authorization to lift the strike,” Herrera told Reuters, adding the company offer addressed union concerns over contracting local employees and replacing lost workers.

He said an agreement should be signed late on Sunday and estimated miners should return to work during Monday.

The miners’ strike that began on Feb. 27 has supported international nickel prices as Cerro Matoso produces around 4 percent of the world’s supply.

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