Tara Mines received a reprieve at the weekend, when 250 miners and general operatives voted by four-to-one to accept a Labour Court recommendation to resolve a dispute over cost-cutting measures.
But the survival of the Co Meath mine, which employs 600 people in Navan, will depend on progress made in talks between management and union representatives over the next two days.
The joint steering committee (JSC) of union and management representatives, which drew up the cost cuts, is to re-examine them in the light of the Labour Court recommendation. It will report to the company on Wednesday. In the meantime the Finnish owner, Outopkumpu, has agreed to put more drastic alternative measures on hold.
The company, which has yet to accept the Labour Court recommendation, has so far declined to comment on the outcome of the miners' ballot.
It will insist that any changes come within the cost parameters already set. These require a 25 per cent increase in productivity and 14 per cent reduction in operating costs.
The talks will be complex, as there are several contentious issues to be resolved, such as bonus reviews, length of rest breaks and the conditions of indirect miners, who provide back-up for those extracting the lead and zinc ore. Each group within the mine is affected differently by the changes and a situation could arise where some workers accept the final JSC proposals and others do not.
Emerging from a five-hour meeting with the miners and general operatives on Saturday, SIPTU's regional secretary Mr Jack O'Connor said the union had been authorised to re-enter talks at JSC level. There was still widespread fear and uncertainty that earnings would be severely affected by the changes.
But there was now room for manoeuvre and he thought the changes SIPTU sought would not have a significant impact on costs. He said the workers accepted the need for continuous improvement.
"But continuous improvement is about continuous improvement in people's working conditions, and in the quality of their lives, as well as about improving productivity and competitiveness for the employer," he said.