MORE than 500 employees of Irish Sugar have gone on strike in support of a claim for higher pay.
SIPTU members at factories in Carlow, Mallow, Thurles and Tuam went on strike yesterday morning because the union says pay rates do not reflect the "increased productivity and profitability" of Irish Sugar.
An Irish Sugar spokesman said there was a "significant gap" between the union demand for a 27 to 32 per cent increase and what the company "could offer".
Irish Sugar, a subsidiary of Greencore plc, which was privatised in 1991, is trying to move to a restructured grading system which has been agreed after evaluation by the Irish Productivity Centre. Workers at Erin Foods in Thurles, which is part of the Greencore group, have also gone on strike and all production has stopped.
Mr John Dwan, SIPTU regional secretary, said rates of pay at the company were "poor relative to those in comparable process operations". The basic rate for a foreman on a 39-hour week was £231, while the four executive directors of Irish Sugar receive around £1 million a year, he claimed.
An Irish Sugar spokesman said it was "fairly hopeful" of arriving at a solution to the dispute and called for an independent third party to be agreed as an arbiter.
He said the unions pay claim would add an "unacceptable" £1.5 million to the payroll, excluding pension costs.
A January Labour Court recommendation suggested that the company make a new offer.
Union representatives are seeking, for example, £7.70 per hour for Grade 4 employees, while the company is offering £6.50 per hour.
Mr Dwan says workers "have every justification" for taking strike action - Greencore had seen an increase in pre-tax profits from £23 million in 1991 to $53 million in 1996, he said. New technology and redundancies had seen the workforce reduced from 1,600 to 500.
He said SIPTU was not considering going back to the Labour Court, but was "open to talks".
The Irish Sugar spokesman said the dispute has arisen "out of the grading changes" which had been fully agreed with SIPTU.