The Government and British group ICI are to meet the trustees of the pension fund for redundant Richardsons workers in Belfast to discuss the £15 million sterling shortfall in the fund.
The meeting was revealed by Northern Ireland Economy Minister Mr Ian Pearson after he met representatives of ICI and officials Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in London to discuss the situation at the Belfast plant.
The Government and ICI are joint shareholders in Irish Fertiliser Industries - which includes the Richardsons plant in the Belfast Harbour Estate - and announced last month they were putting the loss-making company into the hands of the liquidator.
Around 200 workers at Richardsons lost their jobs and only this week reached agreement over severance and redundancy payments following a week-long sit-in at the plant. But they say the shortfall in their pension fund will mean they could get only 40 per cent of the pension they had been expecting.
To date both Government and ICI have refused to top-up the fund which has fallen in value because of poor performance on the stock market.
Some 620 jobs in Cork and Arklow, Co Wicklow, were also lost as a result of the liquidation.