IN A SHOW of solidarity with striking Coca-Cola workers in Tuam, the town council members will lead a march through the streets tomorrow.
They have also asked shops to stop stocking Coke products until the dispute is settled.
This was the unanimous decision of an emergency meeting of the council yesterday. It also called on people not to buy Coke and for shops to stop displaying it until the six-week-old strike is resolved.
Already some Tuam stops have taken Coke products off their shelves in solidarity with the workers.
But a Coca-Cola spokesperson says any such boycott would only hurt over 1,000 other workers employed by the firm in Ireland.
A spokesperson for the company said Coca-Cola HBC was willing to try to sort out the issue but not at the level of pay suggested by the Labour Court earlier this week. Further meetings between the two sides are now expected to take place.
Yesterday marked the sixth week of picketing of Tuam’s Coca-Cola distribution depot by 27 workers who are to lose their jobs.
They are among 130 workers at Coke distribution depots around Ireland who are set to lose their posts as the firm outsources distribution to private companies.