Workers at troubled Chile mine demand severance pay from gov't

Santiago, Agency
Employees from the now-closed mine in northern Chile where 33 men were trapped for more than two months journeyed to this capital to deliver a letter to the government demanding severance pay.

The miners came to Santiago to collect on a promise made by Chilean President Sebastian Piñera, Javier Castillo, regional head of the CUT labor federation, told reporters.

He recalled that during a visit to Camp Hope, where the families of the trapped miners waited for their rescue, Piñera vowed that the other mine employees who lost their income when the facility shut down would not be abandoned.

The government must quickly pay severance to the laid-off miners so they can afford to move elsewhere in search of new employment, the CUT's Cristian Cuevas said.

"The government has profited from the rescue of the miners and it's now time to end the trauma of the workers who still remain without jobs," Cuevas said, alluding to the boost Piñera and his administration received from the spectacular operation to bring the trapped men to the surface.

The congressman who represents the Atacama region where the San Jose mine is located, Lautaro Carmona, said that while the 33 rescued miners are being feted at home and abroad, "there are dozens of workers from that deposit who have not been able to find a new source of work."

After 70 days underground, the "Atacama 33" were rescued over the course of Oct. 12 and 13 as television viewers around the world watched. Several filmmakers are already working to bring the story to the big screen.