Six further pits to close with more job losses

NEIL CLARKE, chairman of British Coal, said that up to six more mines will have to close with the loss of thousands more jobs under contracts being negotiated with the electricity supply industry. This is in addition to 31 pit closures announced two weeks ago with the loss of 30,000 jobs.

Mr Clarke also said that without the contracts, which are still uncertain, the position would be 'devastating' and that many more mines would be closed.

In evidence to the Trade and Industry Select Committee, Mr Clarke said: 'We accepted the terms of those contracts only because we were looking into the abyss of what would happen if we did not.'

At the same time it emerged that British Coal asked the Treasury for around pounds 300m more than the pounds 1bn finally agreed for redundancy payments for miners. Mr Clarke said: 'We argued that the terms should be enhanced to deal with this appalling situation. We did our level best.'

The previously announced closure of 31 pits - now delayed for a review - is based on contracts being negotiated with National Power and PowerGen, in which sales would fall from 65 million tonnes to 40 million next year.

But Mr Clarke said yesterday that a further planned drop to 30 million tonnes in the following four years would mean that only 14 deep pits would survive. These include five mines in the Selby complex in Yorkshire and the new colliery at Asfordby in Leicester, which is still being established.

In his evidence to the select committee, Mr Clarke spoke of 'relentless downward pressure on tonnages and prices' during contract negotiations with National Power and PowerGen.

He warned that even if the Government changes the market to provide more custom for British coal, the increase could come from greater productivity and four mothballed pits rather than from saving doomed mines.

'Increased market share may not mean more collieries. Only a radical transformation of the present market could affect the prospects of the collieries earmarked for closure on 13 October', he said.

Mr Clarke added that government officials and ministers were kept constantly aware of the implications for coal of the 'dash for gas' in power generation, which is pre-empting much of the market.

British Coal delivered the hit- list of 31 mines to Michael Heseltine, the President of the Board of Trade, on 12 October. Mr Clarke said: 'The broad parameters had been quite clear for a very long time. I can provide a list of meetings and discussions. Indeed it will be a very long list.'

It also emerged yesterday that a second Commons select committee is to launch an investigation into the closures. The cross-party employment committee, chaired by Greville Janner, MP for Leicester West, will take evidence from Mr Clarke next Wednesday.

Public outcry has forced the Government to impose a moratorium on 21 of the closures while the energy market is reviewed. A further 10 are being considered in a 90-day consultative period in which the pits are merely kept on a care and maintenance basis.

Yesterday, however, miners' unions told a High Court judge that the consultations over the 10 collieries were in danger of becoming a 'charade'. They said that halted production at the pits during the period meant that the collieries would close whatever the outcome of the talks.

John Hendy QC, for the unions, told Mr Justice Kennedy that the failure to work the pits as normal was threatening to make them unworkable. He said British Coal was also reported to be inducing miners to leave before the consultations were completed by offering better redundancy terms.

Miners' advice, page 29