Devastated workers struggle to accept job losses

TEARS welled in the eyes of workers as the owner of the Cork textiles plant destroyed by fire told them it was not going to rise from the ashes.

More than 100 workers, some with over 30 years service, clung to a thread of hope at a meeting with the owners of the Refond plant in Blackpool yesterday, in a hotel just yards from the burnt-out shell of the factory.

Martin Buckley, who ran the plant for the last eight years, shook hands with dozens of emotional workers as they left the meeting.

“We told them unfortunately there was no way we could start afresh.

It wasn’t feasible, technically or financially. It was a situation made of the hand of God. It’s unusual that such a plant wouldn’t close down for economic reasons,” Mr Buckley said.

He said he was devastated like his workers, who he praised for their loyalty over the years. Mr Buckley added that the insurance on the building “was a complex matter”.

The news was a blow for Liz Myers, who had worked at the factory for the past 32 years. “It’s been a lifetime. I’m devastated and numb. It was an unbelievably fantastic place to work,” Ms Myers said.

She shook the hand of her boss as she left the meeting. “It was a very sad farewell. It couldn’t come at a worse time economically,” she added.

For husband and wife, Yannick and Carol Kurcek, from Parklands, it was a double blow. Both have lost their jobs and the future looks bleak, especially with three children to look after.

“We’ve three, aged 14, 13 and two-and-a-half, and a mortgage to pay. I don’t know how we’re going to live. I was hoping they’d open a new plant. I loved it there,” Mrs Kurcek said.

Ted O’Connell, a 45-year-old father of two from Rochestown, worked as the company’s sales manager.

“It’s like a death, everything was going very, very well for so long. Things were looking very good, which for a textile company in Ireland was a fantastic achievement,” Mr O’Connell said.

Employees will now have to wait until Monday to find out if they will receive any non-statutory redundancy. A meeting has been arranged between management and the union SIPTU, which will take place in Connolly Hall at 11am.

SIPTU official, Pat McGrath, said he hoped to “thrash out” a deal and would be looking for non-statutory entitlements.

“Of course we’re sympathetic with management. It’s a like a death to everybody,” Mr McGrath said.

He said the work atmosphere at the Refond plant had been excellent over the years.

“The workforce were brilliant. In the history of industrial relations the dealings between SIPTU, the workforce and management were second to none,” Mr McGrath said.