Growing concern as Tara and union remain deadlocked on cost cuts

The spectre of the 2002 closure at Tara Mines in Navan has returned to haunt the local mine as the SIPTU union, representing 370 miners, and management failed to reach agreement on a budget for next year. The 690 workers at the mine face the festive season with the prospect of receiving protective notice on Monday 5th January unless a resolution to the crisis can be found. The following day, Tuesday 6th January, SIPTU members at Tara are scheduled to meet in the Ardboyne Hotel, Navan, when their official, branch secretary John Regan and other representatives, having held talks with the company, will give them a detailed account of these discussions. A second day of talks last Friday ended without agreement being reached on the 2009 cost-cutting and production improvement proposals which the company has put forward as a 'survival' package, as zinc prices fall to €1,150 per tonne and the dollar weakens against the euro. Tara Mines is paid for its zinc ore in dollars. An independent consultant, Janet Hughes, formerly a Labour Relations Commissioner, acted as facilitator at the talks last week and at discussions earlier this month. Central to the impasse is a proposed seven-day, four-cycle shift operation proposed by Tara for underground workers at the mine. Craft workers (fitters) working underground would also be affected. The importance of this seven-day cover change for the company is that weekend working would not be regarded as overtime. The SIPTU group responded with a document outlining its own proposals which it presented to management at the meeting on Friday. Mr Regan said that SIPTU"s document contained such measures as earlier starting times and staggering of breaks as an alternative to the seven-day cover proposal. Its document also provided for continued operations and feed to the mill, he said. The SIPTU branch secretary said Tara Mines" measures did budget for a certain element of overtime working. The union"s document identified space for the two sides to sit down and establish how best this 'overtime budget' could be used 'to give greater efficiency and reduction in costs'. The company has informed all its workforce that Friday 19th January is the cut-off date for agreement to be reached on the budget it has drawn up, including the controversial seven-day cover measure. The Boliden board in Sweden has approved this budget but SIPTU members rejected it at a general meeting some weeks ago. Tara Mines" spokesman insisted that there was no question of the mine going onto a care and maintenance basis provided that the budget it proposed was agreed. If the company"s measures were agreed in full, work would continue at the Kells Road mine, he added. The SIPTU group said it had identified defects in the seven-day cover proposal of the company. 'We"re still going to have to provide overtime for holiday, sick and general leave,' said Mr Regan. He said that SIPTU was also challenging the figures for production produced by the company. The workers at Tara Mines were last laid off and the mine placed on 'care and maintenance" in 2002 when zinc prices had slumped to what the company regarded as an unacceptable and economically unviable level. Workers were taken back on a phased basis at the mine after an eight-month shutdown.