Workers at Tara Mines in Co Meath, Europe's largest zinc mine, will return to work tonight after a strike earlier this week.
SIPTU's Meath branch secretary Mr John Regan said the dispute had been resolved based on an agreement between the union and management to engage mediators to examine all outstanding industrial relations issues.
"The mediators will be drawn from the European Works Council of New Boliden [the owners of Tara Mines] and from the corporate human resource department of New Boliden."
"It has been further agreed that the mediators will issue a report with recommendations to both parties by July 16 2004," Mr Regan said.
Swedish group Boliden acquired the zinc mining and smelting as well as copper smelting and refining business from the Finnish group Outokumpu in 2003, creating New Boliden. Outokumpu has a 49% ownership interest of New Boliden, which started operations in January 2004.
Tara Mines has had a difficult history in recent years. Nearly 700 workers, many of them living in the town of Navan near where the mine is located, were laid off temporarily two years ago when world zinc prices were depressed.
In 2000, a strike over training, promotion and use of foreign workers crippled production for two weeks. The strike has underpinned zinc and lead prices this week.
Unions called the strike after talks with management broke down in the nine-month row over sick pay, pension benefits and annual leave.
The company had vowed that operations would remain shut down until the dispute was fully resolved.
The mine, which now employs 660 workers in total, accounts for 200,000 tonnes of zinc a year and around 40,000 tonnes of lead.
Additional reporting: REUTERS