All 405 Tara Mines employees back at work by late October

Workers at Tara Mines have been returning to work on a phased basis over the past seven weeks with almost 65 per cent now back at work.

SIPTU's John Regan said that he expected that the full 405 remaining employees will have returned to the mine by mid to late October.

“A number of matters have arisen in the past few weeks that are being progressed by the Workplace Relations Commission,” he said.

A spokesperson for Boliden Tara Mines said: “We have been welcoming Tara Mines employees back to work on a phased basis over the last seven weeks. Approximately 65 per cent are now back and we anticipate everyone will be back by end of October. We thank our employees and the Group of Unions for their engagement throughout the return-to-work process, as we look to re-commence mining activity as soon as possible.”

The mine shut last July with 650 workers temporarily laid off after what the company said were “significant and unsustainable financial losses” amid soaring energy prices and falling zinc prices globally. The mine has been in care and maintenance mode since then.

The decision to return to production at Tara Mines was finalised, when staff accepted a deal thrashed out at the WRC in April, which included a voluntary redundancy scheme which saw headcount reduce by 170 workers.