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28 July, 2005
The labour dispute between New Zealand’s state-run coal company Solid Energy and ICEM affiliate Engineering, Printing, and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) has heated up again. Some 200 union members at two of the company’s mines were locked out by Solid Energy and by one of its operating contractors for engaging in limited industrial action. Some 700 miners are seeking EPMU’s national call for a 5% pay increase and a commitment to pay parity at underground and surface mines on both New Zealand’s North and South Islands. Solid Energy, posting windfall profits this year due to high prices of coking coal, is offering only 10% over three years.