Tara Mines management has told the Labour Court it will have to lay off most of its 620 employees if they do not agree to the productivity measures needed to make it more competitive.
The company, which is owned by Outkompu in Finland, is seeking savings of up to 15 per cent and improvements in productivity of 20 per cent.
Both sides met at the Labour Court yesterday to try to avert closure of the mine, which is the main employer in Navan. SIPTU regional secretary Mr Jack O'Connor, who represents the bulk of the workforce, described the talks afterwards as "fairly exhaustive".
He said the union had detailed a range of initiatives which would "go within an ace of meeting the company's stated requirements in terms of cost savings and productivity increases".
However, Tara Mines human resources manager Mr John Kelly said that while the union proposals looked well on paper they would not meet the company's targets.
The two fundamental issues dividing the sides are a new bonus scheme and shift patterns. The company wants a new bonus scheme and a switch from a five-day week, based on three eight-hour shifts every 24 hours, to a four-day week based on two shifts of 10 hours each. It also wants Saturday working as part of the basic week instead of overtime.
The Labour Court is expected to give its assessment of the rival claims within the next two weeks.