The installation known as the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array is to reopen Monday because workers reached an agreement with Associated Universities Inc., which employs the Chilean staff.
The agreement includes reduced work hours and a bonus for high-altitude work.
The observatory known as ALMA is located on a remote plateau above Chile's Atacama desert some 16,400-feet (5,000-meters) above sea level.
It searches for clues about the dawn of the cosmos, from the coldest gases and dust where galaxies are formed to the energy produced by the Big Bang.
The $1.4 billion project is jointly funded by the United States, Canada, Japan and Europe.
[Associated
Press]
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