Galtee workers prepare for strike action over severance terms

THE owners of the former Galtee meat plant were last night holding crisis meetings with 170 workers to try to avert disruptive strike action, due to begin this morning.

The strike, which was due to commence at 6am, is down to a dispute over severance terms for workers and the way it is reassigning its staff.

In May it was announced that the former Galtee Meats plant, being run by Breeo Foods, a part of Reox Holdings which in itself was spun off from Dairygold last year, was closing with the loss of 70 jobs at the end of the year.

However, it then emerged that 12 of the staff could be redeployed to two of Breeo’s other operations, smaller factories making cheese products.

That opened up the question of who would be appointed and the terms of redundancy.

On the methods under which the workers would be reassigned to the other plants, the company claims it is following the principle sought previously by the workers’ union SIPTU, where the jobs would be assigned on the basis of seniority.

It has already identified the 12 workers whom it is appointing on that basis.

However, the union said it wants all the workers to be given the right to decide whether they want voluntary redundancy or to be transferred to the other plants.

When that process has been exhausted and the numbers who actually want to work in the other plants has been established it wants the seniority principle to apply.

The other argument centres on redundancy payments to workers who are let go.

A redundancy package was hammered out in 2003, which secured 4.6 weeks’ pay per year of service, plus statutory redundancy of two weeks’ pay per year of service, with a cap of 2.2 years’ pay for most staff. However, the union claimed a new agreement was put in place in 2006 which made that agreement more widespread.

The matters have been debated at length in the Labour Relations Commission but no agreement has been reached and now the union has said it is being forced to take strike action.

That action will not only involve the 70 Galtee workers but a further 80 workers at the other Breeo Foods operations, in addition to 20 administrative and clerical staff.

The company has said there is no justification for strike action.

Yesterday a spokesman said: “At present the LRC are maintaining contact and acting as an intermediary and attempting to find a resolution.”