Union hopes for compromise deal with Bausch & Lomb

Union representatives for over 900 workers facing an uncertain future at a pharmaceutical plant in Waterford are hoping to press for compromises with management when they begin "high-stakes" discussions tomorrow.

Siptu officials representing staff at Bausch & Lomb in Waterford met with local Oireachtas members today to urge them to pressurise the Government to talk to management.

Siptu has agreed to engage with management from tomorrow following last week’s shock announcement that about 200 people from the 1,100-strong staff at the contact lens manufacturer in Waterford are to be cut, with remaining staff facing a 20 per cent pay cut. Workers were told €20 million in savings had to be made just to keep the facility open.

However, officials from Siptu, who represent more than 900 of the staff, said today they hope there’s room for negotiation. “What we’ll be hoping to achieve is to reduce the number of people affected by the redundancy and come up with a range of measures to deal with this cost issue of €20 million,” union organiser Alan O’Leary said last night.

“There’s a lot of discussions to be had around trying to reach an agreement with the company. There are challenges.” He said the 20 per cent pay cuts envisaged by Bausch & Lomb are “unsustainable for workers” but added: “We’re not going to rule anything in or out at the moment. The stakes are pretty high. We don’t want to end up having no agreement because the impact of that would be catastrophic for the southeast.”

Bausch & Lomb is the largest private-sector employer in the southeast but, according to management, payroll costs are running 30 per cent higher in Ireland than at its base in Rochester, New York, and these need to be lowered to keep the Waterford base viable.

Among the politicians who attended today's crisis meeting at the Tower Hotel in Waterford were Oireachtas members from Sinn Féin, Labour and Fine Gael. Siptu asked them to go back to the Government and ask for the workers' case to be further impressed upon company management.

“We’re well aware of the company’s position and the challenges they’re facing - but we also want the Government to be aware of the challenges the workers are going to face,” Mr O’Leary said.

There has been controversy surrounding the timing of the Waterford move, with independent TD John Halligan - who couldn't attend today's meeting - accusing the Government of asking for the announcement to be delayed until after the local elections.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton confirmed last Thursday that he and his department had been "engaging" with Bausch & Lomb management for "months" in an attempt to save as many jobs as possible. However, he said publicly that this work was better done behind closed doors.

The manufacturer of contact lenses and other pharmaceutical products was taken over by Canadian giant Valeant Pharmaceuticals last year in a $8.7 billion deal.