Miners and other production workers at Tara Mines - which is due to close next Monday - are to meet SIPTU negotiators today to hear a report back on talks with management at the weekend.
Although both sides are refraining from public comment, one trade union source said that little progress had been made and described the situation yesterday as "hopeless". Talks began on Thursday and continued until shortly before 7 p.m. on Saturday. Afterwards a joint statement was issued. It said that, "The company and SIPTU have held exploratory discussions over the last two days. These discussions were held in a reasonable and businesslike manner. Unfortunately, they have not been successful. Both sides have agreed to adjourn for reflection and, while there are no arrangements made to reconvene, the parties have agreed to make themselves available for further discussions if required."
ronically, after months of downward movement, zinc prices began to rise last week. The three-month price has risen from $958 to $1,175 a ton. However, this is only marginally higher than the cost of extraction at Navan. It remains the dearest plant in the Finnish-owned Outokompu group, which has 14,000 employees worldwide. Tara also remains costlier to operate than 90 per cent of its competitors, including the Arcon mine at Galmoy, Co Tipperary, where wages are half those in Navan.
If the company's survival plan is not accepted by the workers, Outokompu has said that it will lay off the workforce until prices justify reopening Navan. So far neither the Labour Relations Commission nor the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, has intervened in the dispute. However, with the mine due to close on July 19th, some form of State intervention seems inevitable if no breakthrough is achieved in the next couple of days.
To make the mine commercially viable again, Tara Mines wants to reduce operating costs by 15 per cent and increase productivity by over 20 per cent. It says the targets in its plan can be met, and miners maintain their overall earnings, if they work harder and "smarter".
However, the miners believe that earnings will fall by as much as a third under this plan. They have offered alternative plans, endorsed by the Labour Court, which would achieve 92 per cent of company targets. The unions believe these would maintain earnings close to the present level.