140 goldmine workers laid off
MORE than 140 people are out of work at New Zealand’s largest goldmine after job cuts.
Union representatives say OceanaGold Corporation, which owns Macraes Mine in Central Otago, has cut nearly 25 per cent of the mine work force in response to plummeting gold prices.
The job losses included direct employees and contracted staff.
Amalgamated Workers Union secretary Calvin Fisher confirmed 76 direct employees were given confirmation of their redundancies on Friday, after two weeks of consultation, and removed from the site immediately.
Fisher said 140 to 150 people, including direct employees, principal contractors and subcontractors, had lost their jobs. About 400 workers were still employed at the mine.
‘‘Clearly there’s a lot of upset and anguish, as some of those workers have been there for 18 years,’’ he said.
If the price of gold remained low, more job losses could be on the cards, and uncertainty remained for those staying on, Fisher said.
‘‘The impact for the staff who are left is uncertainty about how they will be looked after if they are encouraged to stay for the life of the mine. ‘‘That issue is being talked about on-site already.’’
It was hoped that stability for the remaining workers could be ensured.
With few jobs available near the East Otago mine, many of those made redundant were being ‘‘left without options’’.
‘‘That regional economy is not going well, so the ability of these people to get jobs locally is not that good.
‘‘Some have been doing specialised work for a long time.’’ The chances of finding mining work across the Tasman were also low with ‘‘literally tens of thousands of workers out of work over there’’.
Otago Chamber of Commerce president Peter McIntyre said the jobs were a significant loss for the region.
‘‘From Dunedin’s point of view and from a community point of view, a lot of those jobs are high paid, so the multiplier effect hitting those communities is going to be large.’’
Without employment options in the area, many of the mine’s skilled workers would leave, and this was happening already, he said.
A meeting for those made redundant will be held on Friday, with government agencies present to discuss options.
OceanaGold chief executive Mick Wilkes said in a press release that the continuing low gold price had necessitated changes to the business.
‘‘Unfortunately, these changes will also have an impact on some of our work force and contractors, who I wish to thank and acknowledge for their contribution to OceanaGold,’’ he said.
OceanaGold representatives were unavailable for further comment on the most recent redundancies.