Colombia coal mine workers move closer to strike

Colombian workers affiliated with coal mining firm Cerrejon's largest union Sintracarbon are preparing to vote for a strike, with the likelihood of a stoppage increasing as the union is angry about a proposed shift change, while the company is firm in its intention to change working patterns.

Sintracarbon, which represents 4,000 workers, will begin casting votes tomorrow on whether to down tools or to invite an arbitration court — comprised of representatives from Sintracarbon, Cerrejon and Colombia's labour ministry — to resolve the dispute. Ballot boxes will be open until 20 August, Sintracarbon president and chief negotiator Igor Diaz told Argus.

Labour minister Angel Custodio Cabrera is hosting an online meeting with Sintracarbon today in a bid to avoid a strike.

"Workers will most likely vote in favour of the strike as the union is furious about the change in shifts," Sintracarbon treasurer Aldo Amaya said today.

Workers will vote at the mine or port at the beginning or end of their working day. If they back industrial action and Cerrejon fails to submit an improved counteroffer, union members could down tools on any day between 21 and 27 August.

Cerrejon and Sintracarbon can continue to negotiate as votes are being cast, Amaya said. But Diaz said that Cerrejon has not yet invited the union to submit a new counterproposal.

The likelihood that most workers will vote in favour of the stoppage has increased since Cerrejon's minority union SintraCerrejon also failed to reach an agreement with the firm. Most of SintraCerrejon's 300 workers voted backed the strike, but as Covid-19 spread in Colombia, SintraCerrejon agreed to allow mediation by the labour ministry to avoid a strike.

SintraCerrejon said it would support a vote for strike as its members are unhappy with the proposed shift change. Current working patterns have been in place since 1993.

Cerrejon has concluded 17 labour agreements with unions in the past 35 years, and there have been two strikes by unionised workers — in 1991 and in 2013.

Last week, Glencore, one of Cerrejon's shareholders, said the outlook for its wholly owned Colombian mining firm Prodeco remains "challenging" because of continuing weakness in the Atlantic basin market exacerbated by the impact of Covid-19. The Prodeco unit has been on care and maintenance since late March and not produced any coal since then. The firm has requested to extend the shutdown for about four years.

A strike at Cerrejon would further reduce supply of Colombian thermal coal to global markets. Cerrejon has set itself a "challenging" 20.5mn t export target for 2020, according to a document sent from company president Claudia Bejarano to Sintracarbon. That still would be 5.8mn t lower than in 2019 and the lowest annual total since 2006.

By Diana Delgado