Cleaning company sacks 140 staff over pay row

A CLEANING company which has been involved in a pay row with staff has sacked all of its 140 employees in Waterford.

Contract cleaners working at Waterford Regional Hospital received letters from a courier service yesterday, informing them their jobs were gone because they refused to enter into Labour Relations Commission (LRC) talks aimed at resolving the row.

The unofficial dispute began last week with a two-hour work stoppage and quickly escalated. Staff were initially suspended on pay, pending disciplinary hearings. However, workers yesterday received their dismissal notices.