Creditors show compassion

Contractors whose workers died in the Pike River mine will be paid.

Pike River Coal receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers today announced it would be making payments to the contractors who lost employees in the disaster that killed 29 men last month.

The company’s partners John Fisk, David Bridgman and Malcolm Hollis said they had reached an agreement with secured creditors to make the payments, which would cover the contractors’ labour costs.

There is no legal requirement for the secured creditors to do this and it could be argued not even a moral one when they are first in line for any payment.

This is not an act of obligation but one of generosity and compassion which might help make Christmas a little happier for those who have lost so much.