UPDATE 1-Peru miners aim for strike decision on Thursday
(Recasts with union, government hopes for talks; details on individual mines)
By Hilary Burke
LIMA, May 3 (Reuters) - Peru's largest miners' union said it hoped to either reaffirm or call off its nationwide strike on Thursday, as talks with the government continued.
The National Federation of Metallurgic and Steel Miners called the indefinite walkout on Monday, demanding better job benefits and improved conditions for contract workers.
Three joint commissions created to address the miners' demands met on Thursday after lengthy talks were held a day earlier.
"We hope today (Thursday) we can define things, whether we decide to continue the strike, intensify it or see how it might end," Luis Castillo, the federation's leading official, told Reuters during an afternoon break in talks.
"We have to evaluate everything" discussed by the commissions, he added.
Union leaders from throughout the country were arriving in Peru's capital, Lima, to weigh the government's most recent proposals, federation official Jesus del Castillo said.
Nearly 300 workers were also marching to Congress to demand mining sector reforms, Del Castillo said.
"The dialogue is continuing throughout the day today. We believe we will finish sometime tonight, and we'll see if we can reach an agreement," said Jorge Villasante, a Labor Ministry negotiator.
Some mines have been affected by the indefinite strike, including two pits run by Southern Copper Corp. (SPC.LM) (PCU.N), one of the world's largest copper producers.
Workers at many of the country's other top mines have reported for duty as usual, however.
The Labor Ministry has said less than 5 percent of the mining sector's 120,000 workers joined the strike, while the union federation has estimated the number of protesting workers at 27,000 workers.
The umbrella group is made up of 74 unions representing about 22,000 workers.
Metals markets were watching the strike because Peru is among the world's top two silver producers and is the No. 3 copper and zinc miner as well as the No. 5 gold producer.
STRIKES TO GO ON?
A partial strike at Southern Copper's Toquepala and Cuajone mines and its Ilo smelter continued on Thursday, union leaders told Reuters. The two mines produced more than 325,000 tonnes of copper last year, according to government data.
Union leaders at Ilo and Toquepala said even if the federation called off the nationwide walkout, they might continue their strike -- depending on the outcome of a government-mediated meeting scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
Southern Copper, controlled by Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX), has said it hired contract workers to help avoid disruptions and that production only slipped to between 90 and 95 percent of normal levels after the protest began. [ID:nN02416692]
Buenaventura (BUEv.LM) (BVN.N), the largest Peruvian precious metals miner, said it was hopeful the government would declare illegal a strike at its main silver mine, Uchucchacua.
A top company official said stocks were dwindling at the mine but output had not yet been affected.
A union leader at Volcan VOL_pa.LM, the country's No. 1 zinc and silver producer, said workers there continued striking on Thursday. Company officials did not return calls seeking comment.
"The paralyzation of Volcan's workforce appears to be minimal. In addition, like other companies, Volcan is making efforts to ensure that production is affected as little as possible," Banco de Credito del Peru said in a statement.
Mining is one of Peru's main economic drivers and accounts for more than half of export earnings.
The majority of the country's mines is controlled by large multinational companies, whose profits have surged on high metals prices. Workers' demands for a greater share of those profits have also intensified.
The last nationwide strike took place three years ago, when miners stopped work for 48 hours to protest the previous government's labor policies. (Additional reporting by Jean Luis Arce, Marco Aquino and Maria Luisa Palomino in Lima)
