Iron ore miner strike halts operations at Shougang Hierro Peru

Over 1,000 miners employed by Shougang Hierro Peru, Peru’s sole iron ore producer, went on an indefinite strike, demanding higher wages on Monday.
 
Mine workers decided to strike to demand an increase of 18 to 27 percent in their salaries, which range from 34 to 54 soles ($11 to $18) per day. Employees are also demanding greater equality among temporary contracts because many of them are hired for three- or six-month terms while others are permanently on payroll. Negotiations between union and management are ongoing, according to local news sources.

Last year, Shougang Hierro Peru’s iron ore output totaled 5.2 million mt, while sales added up to about 7.49 million mt, or about 2.85 percent below its sales in 2007, with most of the product going to China.

Shougang Hierro Peru is a subsidiary of Shougang Group, which is owned by the Chinese government. The mine employs approximately 1,184.