SIPTU urges Fruit of the Loom staff to accept pledges on jobs

SIPTU has told Fruit of the Loom workers it is satisfied their jobs are secure in the short term and will be seeking assurances about the long-term outlook for the Donegal and Derry plants shortly.

After a meeting between SIPTU officials and senior management, including the Irish operations director, Mr Andy McCarter, yesterday, SIPTU executive, Mr George Hunter, urged workers to accept the company's assurances.

In a joint statement, SIPTU and Fruit of the Loom said it was very much business as usual for the company and that the dispute between it and three of its senior management had no bearing on the 3,500 Irish jobs.

Referring to the redundancy notices served on managing director, Mr William McCarter, sales director, Mr John McCarter, and finance director, Mr Seamus McEleney, the statement said the company had hoped to reach an amicable settlement under which they would agree to leave the company. As the three men have sought a High Court injunction against their redundancy, it said this has not been possible so far. The case is listed for hearing in the Dublin High Court on August 27th.

Mr Andy McCarter is expected to become the chief Irish executive at the company following any settlement. "Because of the representations received on behalf of the three executives, we are not going to discuss the merits of the case in public in advance of the High Court hearing," the statement added.

It also referred to discussions between Fruit of the Loom senior European executive, Mr Bernhard Hanson and Mr Hunter last week, during which he assured him that the dispute with the three managers would have no adverse effect on employment in Donegal and Derry.

The group is also clearly annoyed at the media coverage that has surrounded the dispute between the three directors and the company, which broke while the workers were on holidays.

The statement said Fruit of the Loom had operated as a quality employer in the north-west of Ireland for 10 years and "is appalled" at the media campaign which is being orchestrated against the company and its senior management. It believed this was "most unfair" to the workers, who are not involved in the dispute and who have only returned to work after their annual holidays this week.

The company added that it would be making no further comment until after the case before the High Court is settled.

SIPTU has urged workers to accept the company's repeated assurances about the security of their jobs. The current uncertainty was due to a "unique set of circumstances" during which it was not possible to communicate directly with employees before coverage of the dispute in the media.

"The objective of the meeting yesterday with SIPTU officials and shop stewards was to provide an update on the current situation," Mr Hunter said.

"As no further comment can be made until the High Court case is concluded, the union has stated that it will further reassess the situation after the hearing. It will then request a meeting with the appropriate management to ascertain the company's plans for employment in Donegal and Derry in the longer term".