A THREAT to some 465 jobs at Lufthansa Technik Airmotive Ireland (LTAI) plant in Rathcoole was averted last night as management and unions reached an agreement.
Management met representatives of the three unions (Unite, Siptu and TEEU) for more than 10 hours yesterday to try and secure the companys survival.
The company had warned that more than 400 workers faced protective notice from next week unless an agreement reached with unions last April was implemented. It is understood that the threat of protective notice has now been lifted.
All sides last night agreed to clarifications in the way the agreement was being implemented. This related particularly to some workers being on overtime while others were on reduced hours.
“A number of clarifications was put forward by the National Implementation Body to the original agreement on issues such as the plus and minus hours clauses,” said Eamon Devoy, union general secretary designate of the TEEU. “In simple terms, what were proving to be the most contentious elements of the agreement have been made more comprehensible and therefore more acceptable to the workforce,” he said.
Tom Wall, a former assistant secretary general of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, has been appointed as a facilitator to implement the agreement.
Willie Quigley of Unite said he was “very satisfied that the range if issues causing concern had been clarified and dealt with in a transparent way”. He said these clarifications were written down and provided a good template for moving forward.
The clarifications met the concerns of the LTAI employees, Siptu branch organiser Teresa Hannick said last night. “It was a very long and hard day but well worth it,” she added.
The company was not making a statement last night.
Yesterday, Minister for Enterprise Mary Coughlan said securing and sustaining the jobs was most important for her, particularly at a very difficult time for the aviation industry.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio, Ms Coughlan continued to support her statement on Wednesday that it would be regrettable if the actions of a small few jeopardised the jobs of so many in the highly skilled sector.
She said that a new €40 million contract had been won to sustain employment in Rathcoole so the agreement should be implemented.
She hoped there would be acceptance of the agreement which would sustain both the jobs and Ireland’s international reputation as having a flexible workforce.
In April the company put 465 employees on protective notice in a dispute over changes to work practices.
At that time, the company said up to 150 staff at the Rathcoole facility in west Dublin might need to be laid off in the immediate future.
