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Al Jazeera, English — April 26, 2010 — In the Mexican city of Cananea, miners who have been on strike for more than two years over unsafe working conditions, have been occupying a part of the country’s largest copper mine, which is owned by the company Grupo.

But last week, a court ruled that the strike is illegal and the miners could be fired and evicted from the mine after Grupo said the strikers damaged and stole company property, costing the firm more than $1.5bn.

But the leader of the striking miners argues the place they occupied is just the company’s “scrap metal department, which had already been closed down by the company itself.”

Some fear the court ruling could set a precedent and lead to the elimination of more and more labour unions in Mexico.