Redundant workers seek better pay-off

NEW hopes emerged yesterday for an improved redundancy package for 300 workers who recently lost their jobs in west Limerick.

The former owners of Castlemahon Poultry company have agreed to meet the workers’ union next Monday to discuss the redundancy situation.

The Ballymena, Co Antrim-based O’Kane Group have up until now insisted the workers will only get the two-week statutory lump sum for every year of service.

Last year, 150 workers at Castlemahon who availed of a voluntary redundancy package received five weeks’ pay. The workers recently cast on the dole queue say they should get the same.

Workers have placed a picket at the Tesco outlet in Newcastle West as Tesco are one of the O’Kane group’s biggest customers.

Newcastle West based senator Michael Finucane, FG, initiated talks with senior Tesco management in Dublin in an effort to get the supermarket chain to encourage the O’Kane Group to improve the redundancy package.

He said this could be done as a gesture of goodwill given that the O’Kane Group would still do big business in the Republic.

Sean Kelly, of the ATGWU, said yesterday that the O’Kane Group has agreed to meet with the union in Dublin on Monday.

Mr Kelly said: “These talks will take place under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission. The Tesco workers have been very supportive of the former Castlemahon workers.”

A provisional liquidator was appointed in the High Court on October 1 when the O’Kane group asked for the company to be wound down. The liquidator Kieran Wallace of KPMG said efforts to find a buyer for the company failed.

“Having examined the company’s financial status in great detail and faced with the cost structure that is in place I have been left with no choice but to commence the wind down of Castlemahon Foods immediately,” he said.

The County Limerick Enterprise Board and Shannon Development agreed to contribute €15,000 to finance a feasibility study for a group of farmer chicken growers who expressed an interest in trying to retain some chicken processing at Castlemahon. However, having considered the findings of the report, the group decided that a rescue would not be viable.

The closure of Castlemahon was was preceded in February 2005 with the closure of the nearby Kantoher poultry production plant, which resulted in the loss of 140 jobs.

It is believed that the Castlemahon closure will hit up to 300 further jobs in the west Limerick area involving companies which supplied goods and services to the company.

The decline of the Irish poultry industry has been attributed to cheaper imported chicken and a fall in the consumption of chicken due the bird flu scare.