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According to a Reuters report, workers for Cerrejon – the nation’s largest coal exporter – will make a decision on January 29 on whether to strike or take their issue to an arbitration committee.

“Workers are determined to vote for a strike," Sintracarbon union board member Orlando Cuello told the news service.

Under Colombian law, workers cannot leave their jobs on the first day following a vote to strike.

Cuello said about 4500 unionized individuals worked for Cerrejon.

Cerrejon vice president of public affairs Juan Carlos Restrepo told Reuters a strike would be “a disaster for everyone” and they were “always open to a deal”

“We hope that the other side is, too," he said, adding that the company offered a 5% wage increase in the first year of the contract; the union was seeking 7%.

Cerrejon workers voted to strike in 2011, but a deal was reached with the company before a walkoff was made official.

Cerrejon is a joint venture between BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Xstrata. It produced 34.6Mt in 2012, 4% over expectations, and exported 32.8Mt – about 2.5% more than its total goal.

Colombia is the world’s fourth-largest coal export country.