<article><p class="lead">A strike at Colombia's second-largest coal producer Cerrejon will end today after the company and the Sintracarbon union reached an agreement over pay and benefits, putting an end to <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2164494">the country's longest coal strike</a>.</p><p>Cerrejon is to resume coal production on 1 December, it said, but will return with the same challenges it had at the start of the year, including low coal prices, reduced global demand and the Covid-19 pandemic.</p><p>The return of Cerrejon will boost supplies of Colombian coal to international markets, already hit by <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2161984">suspended production</a> at mines owned by Glencore subsidiary Prodeco and Colombian Natural Resources.</p><p>The strike disruption prevented up to 56,000 t/d or 5.09mn t of coal from reaching international markets with Sintracarbon on strike since 31 August. Sintracarbon opposed Cerrejon's proposed changes to working shifts, which would result in 1,250 job losses.</p><p>The union and the company signed a 3½-year labor convention backdated to 1 July 2020 without recourse to arbitration.</p><p>"Following the agreement reached, our priority now is to carry out a safe and responsible restart of operations," said Cerrejon's president Claudia Bejarano.</p><p>Cerrejon agreed to pay unionized workers 10.75mn Colombian pesos ($3,000) in a one-time bonus for signing the labour convention. Cerrejon will increase salaries for 2020 tied to last year's inflation rate or 3.8pc. Salaries will also be tied to inflation for 2021-23.</p><p>The company also agreed to pay seven quarterly productivity bonuses in advance. Workers had requested the money in advance to pay debts because they have not been paid for the past four months.</p><p>"Even though it was atypical negotiating, it prevailed in the dialogue between Cerrejon and Sintracarbon," said Sintracarbon's lawyer Marlon Gomez and a member of the Sintracarbon negotiating team.</p><p>Cerrejon and Sintracarbon agreed to hold talks about changes to working shift patterns after the strike is lifted. Discussions will begin tomorrow about health and safety and other issues surrounding new working shifts.</p><p>Cerrejon agreed to convert fixed term jobs for 100 workers to indefinite contracts. Cerrejon will also rehire 200 workers whose contracts had expired.</p><p class="bylines">By Diana Delgado</p></article>
