E tū to Close Its ROA Coal Mine, New Zealand

Published: January 28, 2016 |

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E tū will close its ROA coal mine in New Zealand.

Workers at ROA Mine, near Blackball, were told that the company will suspend their underground operations as falling coal prices mean the mine is no longer economically viable.

“The boys are shocked. These jobs are important to the West Coast community, and this closure is another blow for the workers and their families in the region,” said Garth Elliot, organizer at E tū.

“Hundreds of coal jobs have been lost in the last couple of years, and there just aren’t enough jobs in the area for these workers, especially in the other extractive industries,” added Elliot.

Elliot said that the company had their hands tied coal and energy markets globally continued to be affected by falling commodity prices. The company would be negotiating redundancy arrangements this week.

“The company can’t keep the mine open, that’s not their fault. The important thing now is to make sure the boys get a fair redundancy deal that values the hard work they’ve put in over the years. Hopefully the mine will reopen when coal prices make it more viable, but we’re looking at at least a year before that happens,” concluded Elliot.

About E tū
E tū is a new union for working New Zealanders in the private sector. E tū was formed by the merger of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union and the Service and Food Workers’ Union in October 2015. E tū represents over 50,000 members in eight industry groups.

To stop by E tū‘s website, CLICK HERE

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