The long-running dispute between Arcon and workers at the lead and zinc mine in Kilkenny is over. Under the deal, announced yesterday, workers have won a series of concessions and will get a 27 per cent pay rise over four years.
The dispute closed the £100 million mine for three months and the new deal will give miners benefits over four years. When the dispute began SIPTU officials said a Galmoy worker got £16,000 a year, so the deal will significantly boost pay rates.
A joint statement issued by ARCON and SIPTU yesterday said the formula provides for a "comprehensive procedural agreement" as well as the pay increases and other benefits. The agreement includes the 27 per cent increase in basic pay over four years and allows for productivity based incentive schemes, "designed to share the benefits of optimising output and quality with the potential to substantially increase earnings".
The statement says other benefits to be introduced "under an agreed schedule extending to May 2000" are death-in-service benefit, contributory sick pay scheme, a pension scheme and company doctor scheme. There will also be an employee share ownership scheme and an employee assistance scheme. Some of these benefits were already in place.
Work is to resume on Monday next, and the first shipment is due out in mid to late May, according to a spokeswoman for Arcon. She said the company had not lost any contracts because of the strike.
SIPTU represents 78 of the 145 people at the mine. Last November the company and SIPTU attended Labour Relations Committee talks in Dublin. SIPTU said it had put forward its pay claim at that meeting and the company said wage increases would be in line with Partnership 2000. It was then the employees decided on industrial action. The company said it would not negotiate until the strike ended, but the unions said it would not end the strike before negotiations on pay. Sources said yesterday that on the face of it, the unions seemed to have won significant concessions.
The company's share price closed up a halfpenny yesterday. It is currently down 20 per cent on the year to date.