Federal police roust strikers from Cananea mine
Mica Rosenberg
MEXICO CITY, June 7, 2010 (Reuters) - Grupo Mexico retook control
of Mexico's biggest copper mine after hundreds of federal
police dislodged protesting workers on strike for nearly three
years, the government and the company said on Monday.
Hundreds of police backed by helicopters arrived Sunday
evening, surprising miners guarding the entrance. A company
source said the Cananea mine, which once produced 40 percent of
Mexico's copper but has been closed since July 2007, could be
running again as soon as the end of this year.
MORE Mexican police and miners clash at Cananea mine
MEXICO CITY June 10, 2010 (Reuters) - Mexican miners clashed briefly with federal police on Thursday at the Cananea copper mine, raising tensions which could complicate owner Grupo Mexico's efforts to reopen the pit after a nearly three-year-long strike was broken.
Two workers were injured during the scuffle, which began when unionized miners tried to block contract workers from entering the mine to start repairs, the union said in a statement. A spokeswomen for the Federal Police said one policemen had teeth knocked out in the clash but denied any miners were hurt.
"There were three large buses of scabs (the company) was bringing into the property and there was a confrontation between the miners and the federal police," Manny Armenta, a visiting representative of the United Steelworkers union, said. The U.S. union has backed the miners.
Federal Police took control of the mine in a late Sunday night raid after the union lost a long series of legal battles and a court ruled Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX) could fire the workers and reopen the copper mine, Mexico's largest.
The company has said the mine in northern Mexico near the U.S.-Mexico border could be running again as soon as the end of this year.
Cananea once produced 40 percent of Mexico's copper but has been closed since July 2007 when the strike began over health and safety concerns.
MORE Mexican Police Attack Cananea Mine, Beating and Arresting Striking Miners
by Dan La Botz
Labor Notes
June 7, 2010
As many as 2,000 Mexican Federal Police and Sonora State Police, supported by helicopters, invaded the Cananea copper mine Sunday night around 10 p.m., firing tear gas and attacking and beating miners who were defending the mine, according to news reports.
With the police having cleared the mine, managers from Grupo Mexico, the mine owner, took control of the facilities. The company reported that it had 2,000 "contractors" ready to go to work as soon as it was safe to do so.
A small fire broke out in a building on company property. The government says there were no injuries. An eyewitness report states that police fired guns and that one member of Local 65 of the Mexican miners union was wounded. No miners had any weapons, according to the report. The eyewitness adds that after the police took the mine, a meeting of the local union was immediately called, during which a Steelworkers member was speaking when police entered, breaking windows and firing tear gas without regard to the men, women, and children present. The USW, a U.S. and Canadian union, has supported the Cananea struggle for years.
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