Solid Energy must engage with miners and community

September 17, 2012
Media Release

Solid Energy must engage with miners and community to save Spring Creek

Spring Creek miners are calling on Solid Energy to properly involve them in the decision-making process over the future of the mine, as they prepare to meet with management in Greymouth tomorrow.

The EPMU’s West Coast organiser, Garth Elliott, says Solid Energy needs to honour its promises to miners and the community, and be seen to be doing so.

“Solid Energy made some welcome statements early on about working together with miners to develop a plan to take to the government, but there’s a growing sense on the Coast that the company’s already made up its mind and is now just going through the motions.

“Last week our union committee at Spring Creek put together a detailed plan that we believe would enable us to start extracting coal now and make the mine financially viable. The company’s said it’s considering it, but that’s about as far as it’s gone.

“These are our jobs and this is the future of our town. We don’t want to just submit plans and wait for the company’s decision.

“From the very start we’ve said we want to be a part of the solution. We have the collective knowledge and experience to make this mine viable and we deserve to be a part of the decision-making process.
“We’ll be taking Solid Energy a very simple message tomorrow - work with us and the wider community and let’s save our jobs and save our town.”

Miners will meet with Solid Energy management in Greymouth at 1pm tomorrow.

ENDS

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