Greencore threaten bonus withdrawal if strike goes ahead

MANAGEMENT at Greencore has threatened to withdraw bonus payments of up to €7,000 if former staff proceed with strike action at its north Cork plant tomorrow.

Workers will begin a picket of the Mallow plant tomorrow morning and will have a three shift pattern of 30 workers each to ensure there is 24-hour action at the site, according to the chairman of the former workers’ group Kieran Buckley.

The long running dispute between the employer and former employees hinges on the level of redundancy workers are entitled to. Both sides claim they have met the recommendations of the Labour Court on the issue.

However SIPTU and TEEU have documentation which, they say, confirms their interpretation of the recommendation is correct.

Last week, Greencore sent a letter to 140 employees in which it said the package of redundancies complied with the Labour Court direction in full and represented an “exceptionally generous redundancy package”.

It said industrial action would not enhance the offer and the company would not negotiate beyond that package.

“Strike action will not serve any purpose other than further delay redundancy payments and threaten the sustainability of the remaining jobs in the packaging area in Mallow.

“It will not result in any change to the redundancy package recommended by the Labour Court to which the company is committed.

“The company hopes that in the interests of all concerned strike action does not happen. However, in the event that strike action does happen it will impact on the orderly wind-down of Mallow operations and therefore the company will withdraw the payment of the ‘orderly shutdown bonus’ from final payments to workers.”

For workers with more than 30 years’ service that payment is €7,000.

However, Mr Buckley said despite the threat, they would proceed with tomorrow’s action.

“People are so angry that the company would resort to these tactics. If anything, though, it has stiffened their resolve.

“We will be meeting at the weekend to discuss how to escalate the strike further,” he added.

A spokeswoman for the company said the letter made individuals aware of the possible outcomes of any strike action.

Both sides are still awaiting a statement from the National Implementation Body on the impasse, with Mr Buckley saying it could go a long way to resolving the dispute.

“We were expecting the decision last week, but three months down the line we have still received nothing,” he said.

It is believed that statement has been prepared and a release is imminent.

The company said it would take on board any of the recommendations made by the NIB as it had done those of the Labour Court.