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Regional secretary with the National Education Union
Miners confident of pit-saving deal

MINERS remained confident yesterday that a deal to save Britain’s last two deep pits until at least 2018 was on the horizon. 

National Union of Mineworkers general secretary Chris Kitchen told the Star he is hopeful of a deal to secure the future of Kellingly and Thoresby coal mines after a meeting with owners UK Coal this week. 

Energy Minister Michael Fallon confirmed yesterday that a £10 million government loan for a “managed closure” of the two mines remained on the table. 

He reassured MPs at Parliament’s energy questions after Hargreaves — one of UK Coal’s private backers — pulled out of talks last week. 

Mr Fallon said the government would continue to work with UK Coal “to explore what other sources of private investment might be available.”

And the Tory, who met the unions on Monday, said all viable options would be examined including an employee buyout, but insisted any plan would have to represent value for money for the taxpayer.

Mr Kitchen said it wwas entirely in the government’s gift to prevent the death of Britain’s deep coal-mining industry.

He told the Star that the government had done very well out of the privatisation of the industry and its involvement in the workers’ pension schemes but now they appeared reluctant to offer assistance.

The union would continue to lobby the government to agree to the state aid option and, “do what is in the interests of the country as a whole and not just those of multinational companies and their shareholders,” Mr Kitchen said.

The only reason not to reinvest the money in the industry would be “a lack of political will to do so,” he added.

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