Strike Called by Peruvian Miners’ Federation Fizzles

A strike by Peruvian miners appeared to have fizzled Monday after workers at virtually every mining company ignored the call for the walkout by their 70,000-member union federation.

“We are functioning normally. The unions said conditions were not right for a strike,” said a senior official at Southern Peru Copper Corp., producer of about two-thirds of the South American country’s copper.

Unions at the largest government-run company, Centromin, postponed a strike vote for lack of a quorum at a meeting Sunday, a Centromin official said in Lima. Centromin is the largest producer of silver, lead and zinc.

The federation’s demands included annulment of decrees they say violate labor rights, wage increases, an end to mine closures and acceptance of a national labor contract drawn up by the federation.

Last week, after the strike call, the Labor Ministry said that nine out of 10 demands in the notice were outside the ministry’s scope, adding that the strike would be declared illegal if it was not suspended.