arthur scargill emigrates to nz

rodders · Valued Member Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 134

well, not quite Wink

Solid Energy may employ UK miners
17 June 2004

Solid Energy may employ redundant miners from England to help work its expanded Terrace underground mine at Reefton.

Spokeswoman Vicki Blyth confirmed a United Kingdom government agency had contacted Solid Energy seeking jobs for miners laid off during pit closures in Selby, Yorkshire.

Solid Energy had shortlisted six miners for four vacancies after video conference interviews and had offered to bring them and their partners to New Zealand to look at the mine and undergo final interviews, Ms Blyth said.

Two had already made the trip and Solid Energy was waiting to hear from the other four.

Terrace mine currently employs 31 workers.

Ms Blyth said Solid Energy had advertised extensively in New Zealand, but been unable to fill all the positions.

"The issue for us is to get the workforce that's skilled and has the experience. It comes back to this problem we have about getting people trained and experienced over the long term."

Mechanisation and Solid Energy's downturn in the 1990s, when it laid off miners, had reduced the local mine workforce, she said.

"As a result there hasn't been a stream of people coming through the system who have got the training, particularly in the underground mine."

Terrace miners say they'd rather see locals in the jobs, but would accept the imports if skilled New Zealanders cannot be found.

"I'd like to think we can find people in our country first, before looking outside the circle," said Terrace Engineers Union delegate Phil Hamill.

The union was surveying its members to find out if experienced undergound miners were available to work at Terrace, Mr Hamill said.

So far it had had little response to flyers sent out three weeks ago. "If those flyers come back and say there's not much interest out there, we've got no choice but to accept these guys."

Solid Energy's skill-based pay system made it hard to attract experienced miners, he said.

Skilled miners earning $24 an hour elsewhere would drop back to the trainee rate of $17 an hour at Terrace, unless they had a deputy's ticket. They would take about two years to work back up to $24.

"I'm pretty sure they (Solid Energy) are going to have to look at reviewing it in the future. For experienced miners that's the big bar."

Solid Energy has almost finished a $4.8 million upgrade of Terrace begun late last year, including replacing surface facilities to increase coal-handling capacity, improving environmental systems, and site landscaping.

Without the upgrade, Terrace would have closed this month.

Instead, Solid Energy plans to open up one million tonnes of a three million tonne reserve, increasing production from 65,000 to 100,000 tonnes a year by late 2005.

Six years ago, Terrace employed only six people and produced just 20,000 tonnes a year.

Terrace produces thermal coal for upper South Island industrial customers.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2944351a13,00.html