Production is expected to restart at the Tahmoor colliery in the New South Wales Wollondilly region soon. Until then – hundreds of workers are being kept on the books.
Around 450 workers at the Tahmoor underground mine are off work on full pay after SIMEC, a subsidiary of the mine’s owner, GFG Alliance, halted operations for four weeks. The mine has historically supplied GFG’s Whyalla Steelworks.
The workforce includes approximately 150 direct employees and 300 employees of contractor RStar.
The Mining and Energy Union (MEU) welcomed the decision by SIMEC to retain their workforce in the current circumstances where the company’s financial position has affected supply of equipment to the mine.
“The workforce at Tahmoor are skilled and loyal; and the company is doing the right thing by retaining them as they address their current financial challenges,” MEU south west district secretary Andy Davey said.
“We are confident that operations will resume within weeks. Tahmoor is a mine with high quality steel-making coal and an excellent track record of efficient and profitable operations. We believe the mine has a strong future.
“Our members were taken by surprise by the news that the operations would be halted and they would rather be at work earning their money; however they remain on full pay with their jobs secure until production restarts.”
The ABC reported last week the mine has potential buyers lined up.
“One particular company did make an offer to buy it that was knocked back,” Davey told the ABC.
“The mine is quite viable, and we believe that there will be no dramas if it was to come up on the market to be sold and that they would keep the workforce they have and they would soldier on.”
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