As talks with respective unions appear to be yielding no results in terms of agreement.
Trade union Unite, which represents craft and staff grades at Tara Mines, has warned Boliden that ‘megaphone bullying’ is no substitute for collective engagement.
The union’s warning follows Boliden’s chief executive officer Mikael Staffas’ statement last week that the Swedish group, which owns Tara Mines, may decide to close the mine if it does not return to profitability. Boliden suspended operations at the mine last summer and placed it in care and maintenance. To date the company has refused to set a firm date for reopening the mine, and has failed to enter into meaningful negotiations with unions on a way forward to secure Tara’s future.
Commenting, Unite Regional Officer Brian Hewitt said:
“Last week’s remarks by Boliden CEO Mikael Staffas mark a new low in the bullying approach adopted by the company since last summer.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that the ongoing suspension of operations at the mine has been dictated by a desire to undermine workers’ terms and conditions, rather than any immediate external factors such as energy costs, which are falling, or the price of zinc which is projected to start rising.
“Now Boliden’s management is resorting to threats in an attempt to force workers to accept their cost-cutting agenda and tear up previously negotiated agreements surrounding redundancies.
“Despite five conciliation meetings at the Workplace Relations Commission, no negotiations have taken place. Megaphone bullying is no substitute for real collective engagement. If Boliden is really interested in securing the future of Tara mines, they need to change their approach and engage meaningfully with unions”.
Following the issue of this statement by Unite, we contacted a spokesman in Boliden for comment. They issued the following statement to us at Meath Live.
”We remain determined to re-open the mine as soon as possible. The current market backdrop is very challenging due to factors including current zinc prices and the price of energy which is significantly higher than the level seen two years ago. It is a very significant move for us to attempt to re-open against this backdrop, but we want to try and bring an end to the uncertainty of recent months and re-open in a way that will safeguard the long-term future of Tara Mines.
The proposals contained in the rescue plan will present us with the opportunity of reopening and staying open for the life of mine. To achieve this, we need to better insulate the organisation against deteriorations in market conditions. The unfortunate reality of the situation is that the operation is too dependent on external market factors, and we must make significant changes to the way we work to re-open on a sustainable basis. Once we re-open, we want to be able to remain open.
We will continue to work tirelessly towards this. We have made our proposals to the Group of Unions (GoU) via the presentation of the rescue plan, which includes a proposed voluntary severance scheme that has the same terms as those offered when the company last put forward such a scheme. We continue our negotiations with the GoU with a view to achieving an agreement on terms that will enable us to re-open in a way that is sustainable, and safeguards the long-term future of the operation.”
From their statement there would seem to be no movement to a conciliatory position only to embrace a position set out at the onset when the management issued letters to all staff
addressing the ‘rescue position’ for the reopening of the mine in the second quarter of this year. It entails a reduction of staff numbers from over 600 to close to 400.
The production target at the mine will also reduce significantly to approximately 1.8 million tonnes from 2.6 million tonnes.
Unite have maintained Boliden ”have refused to engage meaningfully and in good faith with unions in a way forward. We will continue working to achieve a resolution.
This can only come about with management at Tara reconsiders its approach and engages fully the workers through their unions.”
Meanwhile the mine continues on a care and maintenance programme with its ore firmly underground.
It is costing Boiliden €1m a week with massive loss to the local economy as the impasse continues.
