‘We have come this far, we can’t give up now’

ALL but deserted, the cavernous factory building that is Vita Cortex looks the very same as the day its workers downed tools.

But like any abandoned place which once prospered, the plant has an eerie feeling.

Machines, just weeks ago producing materials bound for foreign markets, lie redundant, cast aside like the men and women who once worked them.

Discarded foam, once a commodity, lies strewn on the factory floor.

Perched above the factory floor is the canteen. Here, in a cosy crow’s nest, 32 former employees of the foam packing plant have made a home of sorts. Christmas decorations adorn the walls and windows. They have tins of biscuits, sweets and cake. It could almost be any regular household scene.

The roster on the wall, however, gives the game away, where the names of the 32 are spread across the three long shifts — 8am to 4pm, 4pm to 12 midnight and 12 to 8am. It’s worse than working, they all concur. They agree, as well, that they are more determined than ever to keep going with their sit-in.

“We have come this far, we can’t give up now,” said truck driver Cal O’Leary from Fairhill in Cork, who has over 40 years’ service.

“The support we have been getting from family and everyone has been unbelievable. We are just fighting for our rights, for what we are entitled to.”

But it has been draining for them and their families. Cal was only at home for three nights over Christmas. “It was a big decision to do this but we all agreed and we are hoping for the best.”

The worst part is the emotional turmoil, says Henry O’Reilly, who started working there at the age of 18. “One minute you feel you are getting somewhere, the next you think you are nowhere. The problem is we are fighting an invisible enemy,” he said.

A visit from SIPTU leaders earlier in the week revived their spirits though.

“We thought we were home alone and no one was listening but now we know that people all over the country are watching the situation and supporting us,” Mr O’Reilly said.

“SIPTU told us that, from next week, they are going to start mobilising people nationwide to support us.”

Indeed, support has come from all quarters. Mass was held at the plant on Christmas Day; the Bishop of Cork and Ross Dr John Buckley paid a visit to the workers while Musgrave’s Cash and Carry sent a pallet of food.

The workers are determined to sit things out. As morning becomes afternoon, more and more people arrive in solidarity.

Cork Socialist Party councillor Mick Barry said the situation is a clear indication of how the laws of the land are biased in favour of employers and the powerful and not working people. “Workers’ action and solidarity like what we see here has the potential to tip the balance back,” he said.

The company had offered the 32 employees €1,500 per person and two weeks’ wages if they went home for Christmas and allowed the company to remove materials and tools.

The employees, who have a combined service record of 842 years, rejected the offer and have vowed to sleep at the premises until they are given fair redundancy packages.

Workers say they were shocked and devastated when it transpired they would not be getting their redundancy money, as they had been led to believe it was there for them.

Connie Griffin conceded: “This was a good place to work in years gone by but, in recent times, we knew there was trouble coming.”