'All hell broke loose' after management address, says union official

MANAGERS AT Element Six were verbally abused by angry workers yesterday when they told them 370 jobs were to go, according to a union official present at the meeting.

Siptu shop steward Tommy Guilfoyle said “all hell broke loose” within moments of the company’s general manager Ken Sullivan announcing to workers that manufacturing would cease at the Shannon plant.

“Two employees had to be restrained from attacking Ken Sullivan and human resources manager Tadgh O’Halloran. And they were also verbally abused by workers,” he said.

“I felt sorry for Ken Sullivan. He was in tears and he was in bits. It was a case of shooting the messenger because this decision was made elsewhere. I don’t believe that Ken Sullivan had any hand, act or part in it. He told us that he will be losing his job as well.”

Mr Guilfoyle said a number of workers got up and walked out after hearing Mr Sullivan, flanked by Mr O’Halloran, read out the statement by Element Six chief executive Cyrus Jilla, who was appointed to his post last October.

“Everyone was stunned. We expected another round of job cuts and maybe a pay cut, but not the shutdown of manufacturing,” he said.

Siptu representatives are to meet with management today to try to secure improved severance terms for workers losing their jobs.

“The company is really adding insult to injury by offering derisory terms to the workers,” said Mr Guilfoyle, who has worked at the factory for 26 years. He said if he had taken a redundancy package on offer earlier this year he would have received €140,000, but was now due to receive just €30,000.

“This is going to be 100 per cent resisted,” he added. “Under no circumstances are people going to accept this and that scenario will be put to management.”

Mr Guilfoyle said the company was providing €6.5 million to fund the redundancy packages. “We were told that it is the maximum the company can afford.”

He added: “Only a couple of weeks ago, Mr Sullivan told us that the market had bottomed out and things were on the up again. The order book is full and the last two weekends staff have been called in on overtime,” .

He said before previous meetings where job cuts were being announced, the shop stewards would be briefed but that did not occur yesterday.