Unions at Tara Mines want the company to bring workers back within three months or pay them redundancy. SIPTU regional secretary, Mr Mike Jennings, said many of his members have mortgage protection policies that cover redundancy situations but not indefinite lay-offs.
"Given the price of housing and the mortgages some of my members face, they will not be able to survive the winter if they are left for long periods on the dole," he said. He predicted many families would be joining workers on Saturday's march through Navan to protest at the mine's closure. About 650 of the mine's 735 employees are being laid off by the Finnish owner, Outokompu.
Mr Jennings was speaking after a Labour Court hearing into the dispute yesterday. He added: "We got a good hearing and are reasonably confident of a good outcome. We are now in the hands of the court."
Technical Engineering and Electrical Trade Union (TEEU) assistant general secretary, Mr Eamon Devoy, who represents craft workers at the plant, said the company was "speaking out of both sides of its mouth. It's promising a relatively short closure but refusing to give a date for reopening the mine." The unions are understood to be seeking a commitment from the company that it will take back employees within 13 weeks or offer redundancies. They want any package to be based on five weeks pay per year of service, plus £500 per year of service on top of statutory entitlements. This would add 10 to 15 per cent to the value of the package.
For younger miners taken on during the past two years, the unions are seeking application of at least 60 per cent of the formula that will apply to longer service employees.
Outokompu declined to comment on the dispute, or on whether Tara remains one of its most expensive mining locations. The company has insisted in the past that the price of zinc was the sole consideration in deciding when Tara will reopen. Management reluctance to discuss a redundancy package is due in part to the cost of having to let employees go, and then rehire them at a later date.