Funtraenergetica labour organisation president Joaquin Romero told Reuters that the miners will get a pay increase of 9% in the first year and 1.6% in the second under the new agreement.
However, he added the union is still negotiating with Drummond on a separate contract. There are 3500 workers at the openpit Pribbenow mine who could still potentially strike over pay.
US-based Drummond and Switzerland-based Glencore are Colombia’s largest producers of coal: Drummond reported 22.9 million tonnes of output last year and Glencore’s capacity from La Jagua alone is 6Mt.
The former company, said Reuters, is seeking to almost double output from its Colombian operations to 40Mt per annum in the next two years as part of an expansion plan. The increased production will be destined for the US, England, Germany and France.
A major exporter to the US, the country claims 58Mt of thermal coal production annually. Colombia is able to export almost all of its coal as it relies on hydropower for the bulk of its electricity needs.
