Ireland: Strike at Tara Mines
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- Created: Wednesday, 12 July 2023 21:17
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As rf-news.de reported on 29.6.2023, the Boliden Group wants to temporarily shut down the largest zinc mine in Europe and the eighth largest zinc mine in the world, about 50 kilometres from Ireland's capital Dublin. Most of the 650 or so workers will stay at home without pay, with a few continuing to work on maintenance tasks.
Tara Mines has a very militant workforce, as recent years have shown. Since the mine was founded in 1977, the various owner companies have extracted fabulous profits from the miners, who have produced a total of more than 85 million tonnes of zinc. Now - when the price of zinc has temporarily dropped by about 20% - the company wants to get rid of the workers in order to get them back to work in the next price boom. On Wednesday 5 July, the workers went on strike against the dismissal and blocked the factory gates in the evening. The Boliden Group enlisted the help of the Ministry of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with the aim of reaching a so-called "compromise" at the miners' expense. But apparently there are forces in the workforce that do not want to go along with the logic of subordinating the workers to the fluctuating world market prices caused by speculation. A spokesperson for the ministry said that "unofficial industrial action by a small group of workers will not improve the situation". The outcome of the negotiations will be presented at a meeting on Monday evening - we will report further. For statements of solidarity, here is the address of the Siptu union: Services, Industrial Professional & Technical Union, Liberty Hall, Dublin 1 Telephone: 1800 747881 E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.