The resumption of hiring at Tahmoor Mine is an important and welcome milestone in returning the mine to operation and comes as a relief to a community which has suffered needlessly due to corporate mismanagement.
Tahmoor’s new owners, GM3, have begun the process of re-staffing the mine, beginning with workers who elected to take voluntary leave without pay in order to preserve their entitlements. They have also begun accepting applications from external applicants, including workers who were made redundant when the mine tipped into liquidation.
MEU South West District Vice President Mark Jenkins has welcomed the development, saying it was great news for workers and great news for Tahmoor.
“Tahmoor is an extremely productive and profitable mine, and had a world-class workforce which has borne the cost of its failure through no fault of their own.
“That these highly-skilled miners now have chance to get back to work in a pit they love is certainly worth celebrating.
“The closure of Tahmoor has also badly impacted the town and local businesses, so to see that money begin flowing back into the community is a very welcome development.”
The Mining and Energy Union is encouraging any former Tahmoor worker who is interested in returning to apply for a role, and will campaign for GM3 to prioritise those who were made redundant.
“Tahmoor never should have closed in the first place” Jenkins said. “But we now have the opportunity to shape a positive and prosperous future for Tahmoor mine and our community, and that’s a good thing.”
