Labour Court recommends 1.50 metres per shift target at Tara Mines

In 1994, the Labour Court recommended that Tara Mines and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union adjust the bonus target for development miners to 1.50 metres per man-shift. The recommendation was signed on 8 November 1994. The dispute involved 51 development miners at the Navan operation, where the company employed 770 workers. Their bonus scheme was based on tunnel metres mined per man-shift; a revised contract had set a 1.58 metres per man-shift target for full performance. The union said factors outside miners’ control prevented them reaching it and argued the revised standard would reduce wages. Tara Mines said the target reflected new equipment and was supported by an independent study. The Court recommended the lower target after considering the effects of interference on productivity.