Tara Mines: Union to enter talks with company on alternatives to layoffs

The union representing staff at Tara Mines are to enter “intensive negotiations” on Monday morning with a view to finding alternatives to the temporary lay-offs announced on Tuesday evening.

Siptu Divisional Organiser Adrian Kane said after a meeting on Friday morning management had agreed to engage with it on what measures might be taken to avoid what he described as “the nuclear option” of a temporary closure.

The company’s 650 workers were informed of the company’s plans on Tuesday night to put the mine into “care and maintenance” with the Swedish parent company attributing its decision to a combination of factors.

Boliden said in a statement that evening that a small number of employees would be retained at the zinc mine, which is one of the world’s largest, during the closure. The company attributed the temporary layoffs to a combination of factors including operational challenges, a decline in the price of zinc, high energy prices and general cost inflation.

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“Management have agreed to explore alternatives with us,” said Mr Kane on Friday. “We will look with them at whatever operational issues they raise and discuss what alternatives there are to the temporary closure they announced this week.”

He said he and other Siptu representatives had met on Thursday with Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney who assured him the Government would maintain lines of communication with the union. “He said he would keep channels open with us and I have no doubt there are channels open with the company,” said Mr Kane.

He said the Government had acknowledged the significance to the national economy of Tara Mines. Local representatives have spoken this week of the operation’s central importance to the community around Navan where it contributes to thousands of livelihoods.

The mine has survived two previous temporary closures since it opening in the 1970s and though it is reported to be loss making at present, it has returned very substantial profits for its current owners in the past.

Energy is a major element of production costs, however, and rising electricity prices, combined with a significant fall in the world price of zinc, is understood to have had a major impact on its finances.

With the levels of zinc remaining in the area covered by its existing operation in decline, the company has been working on the development of a new mine, sometimes referred to as “deep Tara” but this new development is believed to be several years away from becoming operational.

Earlier, Mr Kane told RTÉ's Morning Ireland “that the closure would devastating for the workers involved if it went ahead.

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“The reality facing people at the moment, if this were to go ahead, is that their wages would drop significantly. It’d be back down to €200 per week. We have a social protection scheme that doesn’t work, that is totally out of line with the rest of Europe. And I think there was some acknowledgment of that by Government with regard to putting in place the PUP payment during the pandemic. But we’re back down to the system that doesn’t work. It’s not a pay related social insurance model, which was what its intent was when it was put in place back in the 1970s.

“I think there are alternatives that could be explored rather than a total layoff, that’s what we would be trying to effect.”