Angry backlash as miners disciplined over hospital rally

A decision by management at Tara Mines to discipline miners who left work early to participate in the recent Save Navan Hospital rally has provoked an angry reaction throughout the town. Sixteen workers who left the mine early to participate in the massive rally, which saw 10,000 protesters take to the streets of Navan, were suspended for one day and given final written warnings last week, prompting an angry response from the SIPTU trade union and from supporters of the campaign. SIPTU has warned that it would make imminent negotiations at Tara over costs for the coming year extremely difficult and claimed that the workers had been humiliated in front of their colleagues. Cllr Tommy Reilly described the decision was a “bloody disgrace” while Cllr Anton McCabe said it was a slap in the face for the many people who had turned out in numbers last Saturday. It is understood the company decided to take the action on the grounds that the miners in question had walked off the job without permission, while other miners who participated in the rally had taken holidays. However, the decision has been met with an angry response from mine workers, public representatives and hospital campaigners. The Mayor of Navan, Cllr Phil Brennan, who said it had been a great honour for him to have taken part in the rally along with 10,000 others, called on the company to overlook any misdemeanor involved. “Given the gravity of the situation in the town, these 16 men felt it was important to represent the mining community in Navan. They were there to try to save the hospital,” he said. “It is very important for the people of Navan, and in particular the mining community, to save Navan hospital and to save lives,” he said. “This issue is extremely important to all our citizens and I felt privileged marching together with them in this, a day of solidarity, when political differences were set aside and we spoke with one voice,” he said. The chairman of the Save Navan Hospital Campaign, Cllr Peadar Tóibín, said they would be writing to both the miners and the company to thank them for support over the past while and asking for their support in the future. He hoped the focus would be on the big picture, securing the future of the hospital. “When people give their support to the campaign, it is because of the seriousness of the situation,” he said. Cllr Tommy Reilly, however, said the company’s decision was “a bloody disgrace.” He said: “This was very high-handed of the management. These chaps came out to try to save the lives of other people,” he said. Cllr Anton McCabe said the decision to suspend the miners had to reflect on the company’s lack of support for the campaign. “The workers at the mine have always been part of the campaign and indeed their welfare at work, including the high risk of accidents there, has been highlighted throughout the years of campaigning,” he said. The miners had left three hours ahead of their shift end to take part in the march and, according to John Regan of SIPTU, they hadn’t been told they would be disciplined as they left. According to him, when the wine workers said they were leaving, junior management had simply said: “If you are going, you’re going.” Mr Regan said it had been practice at the mine to leave early when the Meath footbell team was playing in championship games and miners had never been disciplined in those circumstances. “They lost 48 hours’ production, but by suspending the miners for a day, they lost 168 hours’ production. That is a sledgehammer trying to break a nut,” he said. Mr Regan explained that the miners had gone back to work on the Sunday after the march and there was no mention of them being disciplined. He said they were rostered off work on the Monday and Tuesday and, when they arrived to work last Wednesday, they were allowed dress in their mining gear and were then humiliated in front of their colleagues by being told they had to attend a disciplinary meeting. He said they were suspended for the day and given final written warnings, although some had no disciplinary record at all. “They didn’t listen to anything the miners had to say and they weren’t given an opportunity to defend themselves,” said Mr Regan. The SIPTU official said the decision had done great damage to the working environment and would make future negotiations difficult. If the workers wished to pursue their grievance, the union would facilitate that. Mr Regan said that, to the miners, A&E and all services at Our Lady’s Hospital are an absolute requirement. “If there never was an accident at the mine, the psychological effect of knowing there is a hospital there and that they don’t have to travel 30 or 40 miles in the event of an accident is a great weight off the shoulders of the miners and their families,” he said.