Record sit-in protesters raise hopes for redundancy pay deal

ONE of the longest factory sit-in protests could be about to end.

More than 40 of the former employees of Peerless Rugs in Athy, Co Kildare, are still occupying the plant, just over 18 months after the plant closed its doors.

But as their next Labour Relations Commission (LRC) session date nears, they are more hopeful than ever that a redundancy deal will be agreed.

Some 42 of the 65 workers have stayed in the plant around the clock since it closed on July 4, 2001, preventing liquidators removing machinery. Staff, some of whom have worked at the plant since it opened 28 years ago, have not yet received the redundancy package recommended by the Labour Court.

"Talks are at a very delicate point right now and we are very hopeful that we will be able to agree a settlement before our next LRC sitting on March 4 or 5. We began our negotiations at the tribunal on December 16 and there's been a lot of work behind the scenes since then," said former worker, Stephen Brennan.

The 50-year-old is as anxious as anyone that the dispute would be resolved.

His 18-year-old son Shane has taken a year out after his Leaving Cert and he hopes to go to college in September. Mr Brennan's €42,000 settlement would go a long way towards helping his son finance college life.

"This is the longest running sit-in in the history of Irish industrial relations. We may go into the Guinness Book of Records for it. We're not really interested in holding the title though we're a lot more focused on getting this resolved, once and for all," the Athyman said.

Like many others, Mr Brennan has not been able to get work since the factory doors shut. Just over half of the staff has got alternative jobs. Recently, three colleagues got jobs as postmen. And even though the dispute has dragged on for 18 months, there are still 42 volunteers on the sit-in rota.

"It looks like this dispute may be settled before our next court date. The glass bottle staff got their dispute settled," he said referring to the closure of Ardagh Glass company in Ringsend. "It really pushed us to get our case resolved. They came down to support us and they even gave us a cheque for €6,000 for our fund. We spent our second Christmas in here and we're not anxious to spend a third. The cold spell has made the sit-in all the tougher," he said.

Mr Brennan gave over 27 years to the company and is due €34,000 in redundancy pay, based on three weeks wages for every year worked. His colleagues are all in similar situations. They are all due redundancy payments of between €20,000 and €35,000.

Workers have so far only received their statutory redundancy of a half week's wages for every year worked. The lack of a final payment has made it a bleak Christmas for most.