Didipio in the Philippines
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner OceanaGold has undertaken the first round of permanent redundancies at its Didipio operation, in the Philippines, as operations at the project remain suspended.
The ASX- and TSX-listed gold miner laid off 496 of its permanent employees, who are predominantly from local communities. A further 400 people working with contractors will also be impacted.
“Today is a sad day for the company and for many hundreds of workers and their families whose livelihoods have been impacted by the local government blockade of the public road pending the financial or technical assistance agreement (FTAA) renewal, which has constrained our ability to continue operations over the past 15 months,” said OceanaGold president and CEO Michael Holmes.
“The company has actively participated in community-led dialogue supported by the majority of village and municipal governments, along with the majority of the local residents in Didipio. Despite these efforts, a small group of local leaders have refused to consider access arrangements that would have preserved these jobs,” Holmes said.
The miner has warned that a second round of permanent lay-offs would become effective in mid-November.
“We will work as quickly and safely as we can to rehire hundreds of workers and restart operations should the FTAA be renewed or the blockade lifted. The Didipio operation looks forward to contributing to the Philippines' post-Covid economic recovery. We are ready and waiting for that opportunity,” Holmes said.