THE Government is likely to approach directly General Motors, the parent company of Packard Electric, in the dispute about redundancy payments to its 800 employees.
Workers yesterday voted 428 to 23 in favour of the Labour Court recommendations on payments by the company which closes on July 5th.
At the weekend, however, the Tallaght, Co Dublin, firm rejected the recommendation that it pay each employee five weeks pay for each year of service plus statutory entitlements.
This works out at 5 1/2 weeks pay a year for younger workers and six for those aged over 41.
The unions had originally sought 10 weeks payment each year worked.
Instead, the company offered five weeks pay for each year of service, including statutory entitlements of half a week's pay a year.
This is believed to be Packard's final offer but Government sources differentiate between it and General Motors and suggest there will be a direct approach to the latter, which also sells Opel cars.
The workforce and unions may hold a protest outside the US embassy as part of this pressure campaign, because GM is an American company.
Mr Brendan Byrne of SIPTU said the unions were entitled to "make the connection for the public between Packard and General Motors".
The unions are also seeking a meeting with the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, and his Minister of State, Mr Pat Rabbitte, as part of their campaign to pressurise Packard to make the redundancy payments recommended by the Labour Court last weekend.
Mr Rabbitte said last night he would certainly meet the unions. He had already made the Government's point of view known to the company, he said, that it should accept the recommendation of the independent machinery established by the State.
"I am glad the trade unions and the workforce have accepted the full terms of the Labour Court recommendation," he said.
"I am extremely disappointed that the company has rejected it. It is a shortsighted decision by the company which continues to have significant interest in Ireland and a good corporate image here." He added that what divided the company and the workforce was relatively small.
An ATGWU spokesman, Mr Mick O'Reilly, said workers expected the Government to criticise and put pressure on the company to pay the entitlements. "The Government is often critical of workers who refuse to accept Labour Court recommendations and they criticise the way ballots are conducted." He added that the company's rejection "is not acceptable in a country where we are expected to be governed by what people call partnership".
