UP TO 400 workers, their families and former employees of Shannon company Element Six (formerly DeBeers) took part in a march yesterday to show their anger at recent threats by management that pension entitlements could be jeopardised if workers engage in industrial action.
The action comes as the company issued a fresh call for talks. The company released a statement yesterday formally asking the Labour Relations Commission to invite all the parties to attend talks on the dispute.
In an earlier move the company banned copies of a free local newspaper from being distributed at the facility, a move which workers have described as “robbing them of their right to free speech”.
Yesterday’s march was organised after all staff received a letter from the UK-based chief executive of Element Six Cyrus Jilla, in which he threatened that the company would have to review whether it could afford to fund pension liabilities if industrial action was taken at the plant.
This part of the letter is being viewed by workers, former employees and unions as a “most sinister development”.
In the strongly worded document last Monday, Mr Jilla said: “If we are forced to wind down operations with no co-operation and this creates associated disruption and damage to our business, we will be forced to take further actions on site to protect our business and assets and review whether we can afford our commitment to funding the pension liabilities. The consequence may be reduced benefits, especially for current employees.”
Siptu organiser Mary O’Donnell said the threat “in relation to the pension scheme is particularly unfortunate and contradicts promises made by the local manager Ken Sullivan at the Labour Relations Commission. To use pensioners’ past service and threaten an agreement made in good faith is a new low”.
Last month management announced that 370 of the plant’s 450 staff would be laid off and production ended at the Clare facility. A week later, following representations to company bosses, the Shannon management team was given the opportunity to formulate a survival plan which was accepted by Mr Jilla. The plan proposes to save 243 posts where just 80 were originally going to be kept.
However, one of the most contentious elements of the proposal is the redundancy package being offered to the 207 workers who will lose their jobs.
The company is offering just 2½ weeks wages for every year of service, on top of the two-week statutory payment. However, this has been capped at one year. Some 150 workers who accepted a redundancy deal last January received eight weeks for every year with the company.
Siptu and TEEU members have already balloted for strike action.
The two unions have also criticised the company for banning copies of a free local newspaper from the factory.
In an e-mail to staff, management said it had advised the publishers of the Clare Courier that Element Six could no longer be used as a distribution point for the paper.