SIPTU members at Tara Mines are to meet this morning to consider proposals to avert the closure of the Navan plant and the loss of 630 jobs. Technical, administrative and craft workers at the mine are to meet early this afternoon.
Early this morning, SIPTU negotiators were still discussing proposals to restructure their bonus payments and shift working patterns with a three-man facilitation team led by the chairman of Meath County Council, Mr Brian Fitzgerald. The other members of the team were SIPTU president Mr Jimmy Somers and IBEC director Mr Turlough O'Sullivan.
If the facilitators cannot achieve agreement between the miners and the company they are expected to issue their own recommendations for consideration at today's meetings.
So far it is understood that agreement has been reached on about 30 redundancies for older miners with a cap on payments of £45,000. The company has also agreed to £10,000 in compensation for lost earnings.
However, both sides are still divided on the issue of increasing shifts from eight to 10 hours a day, and on the introduction of new basic rates and bonuses for different categories of miner.
Yesterday evening the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, who represents the Meath constituency, made a major initiative in the dispute. He met the negotiators at the Newgrange Hotel, Navan, and told them that he had secured the agreement of Cabinet colleagues to double the tax relief available under the 1997 Finance Act to workers experiencing pay cuts.
At present the Act provides tax relief of up to £10,000. The amendment will allow the relief to be raised to £20,000. The Minister's initiative is thought to have come after lobbying by SIPTU and it gave a powerful impetus to the talks. Miners are being asked to take pay cuts of 25 per cent or £12,000 a year.
Mr Dempsey declined to comment last night on the initiative. He said he was there to facilitate the talks in any way he could and help save the 630 jobs.
"Both sides have been working very hard for a solution," he said. Progress had been made "and I'm a lot more optimistic than I was two days ago when talks began".
His optimism seemed to be shared by council chairman Mr Fitzgerald, who convened the talks. "We're satisfied progress is being made. We hope to put a document to both sides that they can accept for recommendation to their respective board and members."
SIPTU regional secretary Mr Jack O'Connor has called a mass meeting of members in the local SIPTU hall for 11.30 a.m. today to put any settlement proposals. However, he said early this morning that after some initial progress, new difficulties had emerged.
The Tara Mines human resource manager, Mr John Kelly, also expressed concern about the optimistic tone of some reports.
"There appears to be an air of optimism that we are going to reach an agreement. We don't share that optimism. There are still fundamental differences between us. We are still going to suspend operations on Monday if we don't get a viable plan."