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WMC to sack
150, shelve
$105m plan
PERTH: Western Mining Corpora
tion has announced it will retrench ISO
workers and shelve its $105 million ex
penditure program at its Kambalda
nickel operations in Western Australia.
The company said the decision had
been made after a breakdown in negoti
ations yesterday with the Australian
Workers' Union over shift hours at
Kambalda.
WMCs state manager, Phil Lockyer,
said in Perth, "Kambalda must operate
at an internationally competitive level
and if the only way we are allowed to do
this is to down-size, then that is the
course of action we have to take."
Western Mining had been attempting
to introduce continuous mining at Kam
balda for more than a year.
The Western Australian Government
gave the go-ahead to legislative changes
last week for continuous mining in
Western Australia — the only state in
Australia which still bans the practice.
Negotiations on an industrial agree
ment oroke down at a meeting yesterday
morning chaired by the WA Deputy
Premier, Ian Taylor.
The corporation said that the AWU
secretary, Bruce Wilson, had accepted a
final package on Saturday, subsequently
confirmed by Mr Taylor.
However, the company said the
AWU representatives had later reneged
on the agreement
The $105 million expenditure pro
gram formed part of a $400 million
capital-works program on WMCs nick
el operations in Western Australia.
$