Antofagasta Copper Miners Escalate Strike as Three Union Members Begin Hunger Strike

The shift from a wage dispute to a hunger strike raises the reputational and political stakes for Antofagasta well beyond the immediate bargaining table, and the union's claim of a roughly 50% output hit in November is the number the copper market will actually trade on. The core grievance — pay gaps between workers doing the same job under different union contracts — is a structural issue that a headline wage offer does not resolve, which is why the two sides remain far apart. Whether the hunger strike draws government mediation, and whether the company's offer moves, are the open questions.