Peruvian miners plan to vote Feb. 21 on whether to strike over job cuts and delayed legislation on pensions and profit-sharing, a union official said.
Miners will decide whether to strike on March 15 to protest the firing of about 6,000 workers at units run by Newmont Mining Corp., Gerdau and Renco Group, Luis Castillo, general secretary of the Mining Federation, said in a telephone interview. Congress has postponed a vote on a bill to improve pensions and profit-sharing, he said.
“We’re holding talks with Cabinet Chief Yehude Simon, but we’re not making any progress,” Castillo said. “The crisis is hitting Peruvian miners hard.”
Mining companies including Glencore International, Volcan Cia. Minera and Pan American Silver Corp. are shutting mines in Peru and slashing jobs because of slumping metals prices. Copper, zinc and lead and have all fallen at least 35 percent since the start of July as the global crisis eroded demand.
CHINA
Manufacturing declines again
China’s manufacturing shrank for a fourth month as exports fell because of the global recession and companies ran down stockpiles of steel, textiles and autos, a government-backed survey showed.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to a seasonally adjusted 45.3 in January, from 41.2 in December, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in an e-mailed statement. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction.
A slowdown in the world’s third-biggest economy has cost the jobs of 20 million migrant workers, raising the risk of social unrest, according to the government. China has “considerable room” to increase a $585 billion stimulus package, the International Monetary Fund said.
SWEDEN
Partners seek higher snuff sales
Philip Morris International, the largest publicly traded cigarette company, will jointly sell snuff worldwide with Swedish Match, broadening the company’s product range as it targets emerging markets for growth.
The companies also said they’ll press the European Union to scrap a ban on Nordic-style smokeless tobacco, known as snus, which they say is a less unhealthy alternative to cigarettes.
Swedish Match shares jumped amid speculation the deal may be the prelude to a merger if Philip Morris succeeds in widening the appeal of snus, which is pasteurized and put against the upper lip.
