Tara Mines faces a serious risk of closure and the loss of nearly 600 jobs, following the rejection of radical changes in work practices by miners and general operatives.
Nearly 300 SIPTU members voted by two to one against proposals recommended by their negotiators, which would have restored the Navan lead-zinc mine to profitability. It still has over 10 years of exploitable reserves.
Both management and unions were surprised by the outcome of the ballot. Over 100 craft workers in the AEEU and TEEU voted to accept the changes last November, as did 80 white-collar workers in MSF and 30 supervisors in SIPTU. The company has repeatedly warned the workforce that it needs to reduce unit costs from £21 a tonne to £18 a tonne, and increase productivity by 25 per cent to make the plant viable.
The latest proposals would have secured cost reductions of £2.40 a tonne, without loss of overall earnings to employees. In return, they would have had to accept annualised hours and other changes in work practices. At present the mine is barely breaking even, but these changes would bring it into line with other mines owned by the Finnish mining company, Outokompu.
Last night the SIPTU regional secretary, Mr Jack O'Connor, described the situation as "very serious." "We have asked the company to allow us time to reflect on the outcome of the ballot, to see if anything can be done to retrieve the situation, but they haven't responded to our request so far," he said.
The company is expected to brief employees on Monday and tell them it intends implementing its original proposals. If the workforce refuses to co-operate the future of the operation will be in doubt. Given the closeness of the overall vote among the workforce, it would be surprising if further efforts are not made to secure the agreement of SIPTU members to the changes.