(New throughout, adds further details from union leader) By Marco Aquino LIMA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Workers at the Chinese-ownedLas Bambas copper mine in Peru will kick off an "indefinite"strike beginning next week after the miner failed to deliverinformation on profit-sharing protocols, the union's leader saidon Monday. Erick Ramos, general secretary of the Las Bambas workersunion, told Reuters by telephone the union had agreed to go on astrike with no set end date starting Nov. 28.
"A meeting with the company was set for today to explaininformation regarding profit sharing, but that did not happen,"Ramos said.
Representatives for Las Bambas did not immediatelyrespond to requests for comment. The mine, owned by China's MMGLtd , began operations in 2016 and is among the largestcopper producers in Peru, the world's No. 2 producer of themetal.
The union had already kicked off a strike on Sunday,which is set to end Tuesday, over the profit sharing.
The miner, as part of its contract with workers, is to sharesome profits every year with employees.
However, the mine "had already said that there wouldn'tbe any profit sharing this year," Ramos said. "So they're goingto have to see how to pay the workers. By contract they weresupposed to have given us part of that payment in November."
Las Bambas has pumped out around 221,160 metric tons ofcopper from January to September this year, a 21.7% boost fromthe year before, according to sources at the mining ministry.
The mine's production has steadily increased afterhaving to freeze operations at the beginning of the year due toroadblocks by anti-government protesters following December'souster of President Pedro Castillo.
A source close to the mine said the company respects laborrights "and works hard to ensure a safe working environment forits workers," noting the labor ministry had declared the currentstrike "inadmissible". The union, which represents more than 1,000 workers, iscurrently registering the strike set for Nov. 28 with the laborministry, Ramos said. (Reporting by Marco Aquino, Writing by Isabel Woodford andKylie Madry, Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan andDavid Gregorio)
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