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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | August 2007 
Mexico Miners Get Go-Ahead to Keep Striking
 Robin Emmott - Reuters
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Monterrey, Mexico - Some 3,000 striking miners at Mexico's top copper mine on Wednesday got the green light to continue their walkout as a court sought time to decide if the action was illegal and workers could be fired.
Seeking to avoid a clash between determined miners at the Cananea mine and its owners, Grupo Mexico, the court granted a provisional injunction and the mine remains closed, union official Carlos Pavon said.
"We won our injunction and we will strike for as long as we have to," Pavon told Reuters.
The miners at Cananea and two smaller Grupo Mexico pits defied a government order to go back to work on Wednesday and vowed to keep Cananea closed until work conditions improve at the mine close to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Mexico's sluggish legal system means that a quick court decision on the injunction is unlikely, meaning the government, miners and the company probably will have to resolve the strike between them.
Grupo Mexico was not immediately available for comment following the court decision. The company had threatened to start firing miners if they did not return to work by around midday.
Mexico's labor ministry declared the strike illegal on Tuesday and said the miners, who on Wednesday added a 15 percent pay rise to their original demands, would lose their jobs if they did not restart work at Cananea.
The union said it would resist any attempt by the company or police to break up the strike and fire workers.
"They are not going to break up the strike. Let's see if they can; bring on the police!" said Pavon. "We deserve a decent wage," he added, saying that some miners earn as little as $9.10 a day at Cananea.
Earlier this year Cananea workers were each given a share of Grupo Mexico's 2006 profits worth about $30,000.
Grupo Mexico, which also faces strike threats at mines in Peru run by its Southern Copper unit, said it had not received any formal notice of the salary hike demands.
Contract talks with Cananea miners, which broke down last year, are due to start on Aug. 27.
Cananea, which produced 164,000 tonnes of copper last year, went on strike 10 days ago along with two smaller zinc, silver and lead mines.
Along with Cananea, Grupo Mexico's San Martin copper mine and Taxco lead and silver mine are also affected by the strike.
Despite a series of strikes over the past two years, Grupo Mexico aims to increase Cananea's output to 438,000 tonnes over the next five years by building new processing plants. |
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