Bausch + Lomb and Siptu agree to talks

Management and the Siptu trade union at contact lens group Bausch + Lomb have agreed to talks at the Workplace Relations Commission on Wednesday.

The two sides have been at loggerheads since Siptu members voted for industrial and strike action in a row over pay at the Waterford plant. The union had announced plans for a series of stoppages in the week running up to Christmas.

Management responded by threatening a series of actions that would lead to more than 200 job cuts if agreement on a pay deal was not secured by Friday of this week.

And they warned of further action if disruption continued into the new year, raising fears for the future of the plant where 1,250 people are employed.

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Siptu members have already comprehensively rejected recommendations from the Workplace Relations Commission, and subsequently from the Labour Court. They are now demanding a return to pay and conditions in place before mid-2014.

The company has said it will not entertain any discussion on “full restoration”.

Workers at the plant took a 7 per cent pay cut and lost other benefits at that time – along with 200 jobs – in an effort to ensure the survival of the plant.

Bausch + Lomb is owned by troubled Canadian pharma group Valeant, which has been trying to offload.

The two sides were invited to talks at the commission in an effort to resolve the dispute.