Hundreds of jobs at risk across the processing industry, claims union

SIPTU has warned that hundreds of jobs are at risk across the meat processing industry.

It said the Government is providing €69m in funding to the Dawn Group, Kepak and AIBP to rationalise and consolidate production.

But the union said it is not providing the same sort of supports to the workers, farmers and other members of local communities adversely affected by this strategy.

Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith told Limerick West TD John Cregan in a written reply to a Dáil question that the grant assistance of over €69m is in respect of 15 investment projects.

He said the awards, part of a strategy to position the industry to face the challenges and grasp the opportunities that lie ahead, will contribute to total investment in the region of €168m.

Mr Smith said the expected overall net impact of this programme of investment is to achieve over €400m in additional sales and exports and a net expansion of 800 in employment following completion of the package in 2012.

SIPTU raised the issue after talks with management at Meadow Meats in Rathdowney, Co Laois, part of the Dawn Group.

Dawn confirmed earlier this week that it had decided to “amalgamate” the boning work done at its site in Rathdowney with its facility in Grannagh, on the Waterford-Kilkenny border. It said slaughtering of cattle at Meadow Meats will continue as normal and that the company was offering positions for all the Rathdowney operatives in Grannagh.

Accepting there was no chance of preserving 100 jobs at the Rathdowney plant, SIPTU branch organiser Miriam Hamilton warned that these losses could be followed by others across the meat processing industry.

“We have already lost 100 jobs in Cork with the concentration of production by the Dawn Group at Charleville and now 100 more jobs are being lost in Rathdowney with the boning hall facility being transferred to Grannagh in Waterford.

“Dawn Meats and Kepak are planning to build a giant abattoir in Kilbeggan shortly, which will lead to more job losses elsewhere in the midlands,” she said.

Ms Hamilton said while SIPTU can see the rationale behind restructuring the industry to make it more competitive at international level, this needs to be done in a way that also protects the communities that depend on the industry.

“We do not want a repeat of the scandal involving the pig industry last Christmas, when a package of €180m was made available to deal with the contamination crisis but €600,000 could not be found to compensate laid-off production workers for loss of earning.

“That was for two weeks,” she said.