A vote on a deal brokered between unions and the management of Tara Mines could mark the end of the limbo employees have been facing since last July, and the start of the mine reopening.
Driving out the gate of Tara Mines last July, on their last day of work, staff described the situation they were in as"limbo".Many of the workers had been there for decades. Some of them I spoke to as they left work that day described feeling"gutted".Nobody knew then just how long this"temporary" closure of one of the most important employers in Co Meath and the northeast would last.
Around 50 of them availed of early retirement or voluntary redundancy, others went in search of other jobs to help pay the bills in this intervening period. Local shops and cafés, where miners would buy coffee or breakfast at the start or end of their long shifts, were among those indirectly hit by the closure.
Paula McCaul from Co Meath Chamber of Commerce said that retailers in Navan missed the miners’ passing trade, reporting that spending and footfall was down. The group of unions at the mine, SIPTU, Unite and Connect, will be recommending that workers accept the deal, which they say protects their core terms and conditions.
Back then, Boliden said its decision was unavoidable and that it came down to a decline in the price of zinc as well as high energy prices and inflation.
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