Strike at Chile's Escondida drags on

A strike at Chile's Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine, entered a third day on Sunday with no sign of a deal to end a protest that unions are threatening to extend across the country. Escondida union leader Roberto Arriagada said mine owner BHP Billiton had refused to resume talks to increase bonuses, calling the company's decision "a huge mistake that will lead to nation-wide protests."
Leaders representing about 27,000 workers at state-run Codelco and privately owned mines threatened on Sunday to carry out nation-wide protests to support Escondida strikers.
"If anyone's fired (at Escondida) we'll act as a single force," Raimundo Espinoza, head of Codelco's labour federation, said in a joint briefing with Escondida union leaders.