Workers at Tara Mines in Co Meath are to down tools for three days starting on June 1st in a strike that management says will lead to the suspension of operations and put 660 jobs in jeopardy.
Some 220 miners at the facility, the largest zinc mine in Europe are taking the action in a dispute over welfare issues, union leaders said today. Tara was bought by Sweden's Boliden from Finnish group Outokumpu last year.
Mr John Regan, branch secretary of SIPTU, the union representing the mine's underground workers, said the dispute centred on demands for a sick-pay scheme, improved pension benefits and increased annual leave.
The three-day stoppage, which will begin at 10 p.m. next Tuesday, was called after talks in the nine-month old dispute broke down last week. The action also includes a ban on overtime work, Mr Regan said.
Describing the situation as "very serious", Tara Mines Managing Director Mr Eero Laatio said the company had issued protective notice to workers and if the strike went ahead as planned operations would be suspended.
"Production will cease," he said, adding the mine would remain shut down until the dispute was resolved.
"The jobs are definitely in jeopardy," he said.
Asked whether the future of the mine was in question, he said: "There is a good future in this place as soon as we can get it going."
He said the mine had planned to increase production this year to around 2.66 million tonnes of ore from 2.5 million tonnes last year, but that target was now under threat.
Both sides were pessimistic about the prospects of talks to avert the strike.