Martin vows workers will get every support from state agencies

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Micheál Martin has said the 785 workers axed from Pfizer will be given every possible support by state agencies.

“The workers must be a priority as the company attempts to sell both plants over the next year-and-a-half. I have asked that they are offered education and training opportunities by Pfizer and the agencies to improve their prospects of securing future employment,” the minister said.

The Pfizer decision was regrettable, he said, and “the company must keep the workforce fully informed of its efforts to sell both plants in the coming months. I would urge management to enter into a consultation process with the workers”.

Enterprise, Trade and Innovation Minister Batt O’Keeffe said the Government’s priority would be to provide training and re-employment services to the 275 workers losing their jobs in Newbridge, Co Kildare, and to work with Pfizer Global Manufacturing (PGM) to save the other 510 jobs at risk due to the planned closure of plants in Cork and Dublin.

“Although the 275 job losses in Newbridge are devastating for the workers, their families and communities, it should be acknowledged that the company has retained a workforce of 770 in the plant,” Mr O’Keeffe said.

SIPTU officials will be seeking an urgent meeting with Pfizer to seek clarifications on aspects of yesterday’s announcement. “Our main priority is to protect our members’ interests in whatever way possible. The announcement has come as a devastating blow to Pfizer employees in Dublin, Kildare and Cork,” SIPTU branch organiser Michelle Quinn said.

Opposition parties have called on the Government and European Commission to support the axed workers.

“This fallout is terrible news for the workers but also for their families and their communities. Already we have 44,000 people unemployed in Cork and this news comes as a further blow to the area,” Cork Fine Gael TD Deirdre Clune said. “What we need is real investment in the area and a commitment from the IDA to prioritise Cork for job creation.”

Her stablemate Simon Coveney said: “In the context of today’s devastating announcement for Cork, I’m calling on the IDA to review their policy of prioritising the locating of foreign direct investment in regions outside of Cork and Dublin. Clearly now the Cork region needs to have high priority status in any IDA strategy to bring multinationals to Ireland.”

Sinn Féin’s Arthur Morgan said: “We have been told time and time again that pharmaceuticals will be integral in the development of Ireland’s smart economy, yet the Government have failed to capitalise on this high- end industry which has the potential to create employment for thousands of skilled people across this state.”

Labour MEP Alan Kelly said a replacement industry was needed for three sites put up for sale by the pharmaceutical giant, which will keep a workforce of about 4,000 people.

Speaking from Strasbourg, Mr Kelly said the Pfizer job cuts raise serious questions about the Government’s so-called smart economy.

Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly urged the Government to make an application under the European Globalisation Fund for the workers at risk.

“There will be a knock-on effect to businesses in the towns where these plants operated,” he said.

Fine Gael’s Leo Varadkar said the loss of so many jobs at such an important employer was a sign of meltdown in the multinational sector: “This is a terrible day for Ireland and its multinational sector.”

Labour’s Cork South Central TD Ciarán Lynch said the jobs blow would cripple the region: “This is the second time in as many years that a major redundancy programme has been announced at the company, and will impact not just directly in the harbour area, but in communities right across the entire Cork region.”

The American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland maintained Pfizer will remain a significant employer in Ireland. Joanne Richardson, chief executive, said: “The company’s stated commitment to work with the IDA to seek buyers for the impacted sites also has the potential to mitigate the impact of this announcement and could lead to employment growth in the future.”