Siptu workers to vote in Liebherr row

A dispute at the Liebherr crane factory in Killarney, Co Kerry, will reach a critical stage next Tuesday when 300 Siptu members vote on a Labour Court recommendation on back pay.

A tense situation has developed at the sprawling, 670-job plant, during which Siptu staged a one-day strike late last year. This led to the parties going to the Labour Court.

Headquartered in Switzerland, Liebherr has warned that it is “re-evaluating” its dependence on the Killarney plant arising from the dispute.

However, the company has accepted a Labour Court recommendation to retrospectively pay a 2.5% wage rise backdated to May 2012.

The payment is subject to changed work practices and Siptu has been seeking clarification from the Labour Court in that regard.

Siptu organiser Marie Kearney declined to comment in advance of the ballot and the company is also remaining tight-lipped, given the sensitivity of the overall situation.

The workers involved yesterday attended a general meeting and the result of the ballot is expected to be known on Tuesday evening.

The pre-Christmas warning from Liebherr — a €10bn-turnover corporate giant with more than 120 companies across all continents — has led to serious concerns in Killarney where it is seen as the company threatening to pull out of the area.

Liebherr is hugely important to the local economy. Its annual wage bill comes to €40m and a further €30m is paid to other companies and suppliers in the south-west.

Many of Kerry’s top manufacturing industries have closed and Liebherr is the biggest of the remaining industries.

Liebherr, in Killarney since 1958, recently completed the construction of a €30m production hall, bringing its investment in the plant in recent years up to €50m.