Ahern out of touch, say unions

UNIONS expressed concern yesterday the Taoiseach’s office “doesn’t have its finger on the pulse” in a continuing Greencore dispute.

The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) says it believes the Department of the Taoiseach wrongly assumed the long redundancy issue between employer and workers had been resolved.

The union, representing Greencore’s Irish Sugar workers, said it can only speculate as to the reasons for a long delay in the National Implementation Body issuing a ruling on the dispute.

The Taoiseach’s office chairs the NIB from which worker bodies have been waiting for a statement since the start of July.

“We have received reliable information that the Taoiseach’s office believes the issue has already been resolved,” said Pat Guilfoyle of the TEEU. “I am astounded that the Taoiseach’s office does not have its finger on the pulse on this issue. This is very far from being resolved.”

He said the NIB must not use Greencore’s request for a judicial review of the Government’s decision to allocate only €98 million of a €145m EU sugar restructuring fund to it, as an excuse to hold up its decision on the issue.

That application is due to be heard next month.

Meanwhile, the unions yesterday served notice of strike action on the company to take effect in two weeks. The workers are out of work since May.