Colombian coal train employees lifted
their strike and were back at work on Monday, transporting coal from mines
owned by Xstrata and Drummond, union official Felix Herrera told
Reuters.
“The trains are running again,” Herrera said.
Police broke up picket lines on Sunday that had been set up to block
train tracks, Herrera said, prompting workers to drop demands for contract
negotiations and return to their jobs.
Some 600 employees of the Fenoco transportation firm called the work
stoppage last month to demand recognition of their labor union. The protest
has stopped 130,000 tonnes of coal per day from being transported by rail
to Caribbean ports from northern Colombian mines, union officials said.
Neither U.S.-based Drummond nor Swiss-based Xstrata would say what, if
any, effect the work stoppage had on exports.
A Fenoco representative could not be reached for comment. (Reuters)