The three-year contract includes changes to working conditions, such as “initiatives to optimize shift changes, increase equipment utilization and comply with the 40-hour law,” BHP said in a statement announcing the contract.
In an internal message seen by Reuters, union members called for a return to work.
The mine’s influential union began a strike on Tuesday over pay disputes, but reached a preliminary agreement on Friday that suspended the strike.
The union had previously sent a memo to its members warning that the strike could start again if the company did not “correct” its stance on collective bargaining.
BHP’s statement did not provide further details about the deal with the union, but sources within the company and the union told Reuters earlier this week that BHP had offered workers around $32,000 in bonuses and an additional $2,000 in low-interest loans.
BHP had previously offered a bonus of $28,900 per worker. The union, however, demanded one percent of the mine’s shareholder dividends, or about $35,000 to $36,000 per member.
LME copper prices rose 1 percent to $9,211 on Monday as sentiment on the metals firmed.
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Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Writing by Sarah Kinosian; Editing by Tom Hogue and Shri Navaratnam
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