Staff at Citywest-based plant and heavy machinery maintenance firm Castolin Eutectic Ireland are to stage three days of industrial action over the next week.
The dispute is over the terms on which a number of the company’s workers are to be made redundant. The firm has said it is not in a position to implement redundancy terms recommended by the Labour Court.
Company management and trade union Siptu participated in a Labour Court process after the company said it was not in the position to offer the same terms as had been agreed for previous rounds of redundancies at the firm.
During the process, the US-owned company said it had experienced significant commercial and operational difficulties, which had affected the viability and sustainability of the business operation in Ireland.
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It had, it said, implemented extensive cost-reduction measures and operational efficiencies but, despite this, the Irish operation was continuing to experience severe financial pressure, with current revenues insufficient to offset increasing operating costs and other continuing challenges.
The company said the offer of enhanced redundancy terms in previous rounds of redundancies had been made at a time when the company’s finances were significantly better; on this occasion it was only in a position to offer departing staff an ex gratia payment of €500 on top of statutory redundancy as a gesture of goodwill.
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The union sought an uncapped sum of two weeks’ pay per year of service as, it said, had been paid to workers made redundant in 2009, 2018 and 2021.
The two sides were also at odds over the selection method for those who would lose their jobs. Siptu suggested if the principle of “last in, first out” contained in the collective agreement between the company and union was to be departed from then the terms on offer should be improved beyond what had been given in the past.
The court recommended the union accept the company’s proposed selection procedure; that the company should provide additional training with the aim of ensuring that a redundancy selection process based on the skill levels of employees was not required in the future; and said an ex gratia payment of 1.5 weeks’ pay per year of service capped at €800 per week should be offered to affected staff.
On Tuesday, however, the union said the company had said it would not implement the terms recommended by the Labour Court and its members had voted for industrial action.
“This is unacceptable to the eight workers being made redundant and their colleagues in the plant,” said Siptu organiser Richie Elliott.
“The company cannot be allowed to ignore the Labour Court. It must show respect to the State institutions and pay the enhanced redundancy to the workers.”
