Industrial action ballot at Element Six

WORKERS AT troubled diamond manufacturer Element Six in Shannon will today return protective notice letters issued to them by the company yesterday. Siptu and Technical Engineering and Electrical Union members at the plant are also to start balloting on industrial action today.

This follows the break-up of talks between Element Six and the unions without any agreement on the company’s survival plan.

The talks lasted four hours yesterday and general manager of Element Six, Ken Sullivan, in a short statement after the talks, said: “Discussions continued today with the unions who represent employees in Element Six. No agreement was reached. Again, I urge all those involved to see the urgency of the situation facing us all and to work together to save jobs here in Shannon.”

No further talks are planned.

In the rescue plan, 163 of the original 370 jobs earmarked for redundancy are to be saved, with 207 workers facing compulsory redundancy. Yesterday, workers received protective notice, with the company advising individual workers that they may be affected by the company’s decision to cut jobs at the plant. However, the employees are expected to return the notices unopened to the company as the impasse between the two sides continues.

The sticking point remains the redundancy deal on offer, which is a fraction of what was on offer six months ago. Siptu shop steward, Murdoch Gleeson, said: “There was no budging today from management on the terms of the redundancy package, and we have no mandate to negotiate on a rescue plan without an improved redundancy deal first.”

Mr Gleeson said that management did not want the unions to proceed with the ballot for industrial action, but the unions had agreed to go ahead with the ballot.

Mr Gleeson said he believed that management was anxious to refer the matter to the Labour Court. However, he said: “If management is not willing to move on the redundancy deal, there is no point in referring the issue to the Labour Court.”