Boliden May Suspend Irish Zinc Mine Production, Union Says
2009-01-06 11:31:16.164 GMT
By Jean Chua
Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Boliden AB may suspend production at Europe’s largest zinc mine and lay off as many as 700 employees unless they accept cost-saving proposals, a labor union said.
The Swedish metals producer met for talks with the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union last month and proposed putting the Tara mine near Navan, Ireland, on so-called care and maintenance from Jan. 19 unless workers agree to the changes, the union said in an e-mail today. Boliden plans to introduce a seven-day working week, “substantially” reduce productivity related earnings and change shift patterns, the union said.
“The company’s decision to seek cost savings was based on the reduced price of zinc and the deterioration in the exchange rate between the euro and the dollar towards the end of last year,” Gerry McCormack, the union’s national industrial secretary, said in the statement. “Since the discussions took place the price of zinc has improved, as has the exchange rate.”
Boliden ships zinc concentrate, a semi-processed raw material, from Tara to smelters in Norway and Finland. The company said Dec. 9 it would cut annual zinc output by 14 percent at those plants. The price of zinc fell 49 percent last year, the largest annual drop since at least 1990, as demand from steelmakers plunged. Still, zinc has gained 13 percent since the start of December on the London Metal Exchange.
Tara produces 200,000 metric tons of zinc a year, or about half Boliden’s total output, and 40,000 tons of lead. Employees at the mine, 50 kilometers (31.1 miles) northwest of Dublin, currently work 5 1/2 or 6 days a week and aren’t required to work Sundays. The union said it proposed an alternative plan to improve the situation at Tara.
“We will be seeking clarification from the company about why it still needs the changes, given the improved trading environment,” McCormack said.
Telephone messages left at Boliden’s Stockholm headquarters weren’t immediately returned. The company didn’t immediately reply to e-mails seeking comment. |
