Vita Cortex sit-in taking its toll on the protesters

The former Vita Cortex workers, who admit to feeling imprisoned, have pleaded with Cork’s TDs to do something fast to resolve their 63-day sit-in over redundancy payments.

“We’ll judge them on their actions and there is no action so far — absolutely no action so far,” Jim Power said yesterday.

He was speaking as about 20 of the former foam factory workers protested outside the Cork offices of the employers’ union Ibec at Knockrea House on the Douglas Road.

They then protested outside the home of Vita Cortex director and former non-executive chairman, Sean McHenry, before moving on to a company on the Kinsale Road 50% owned by Vita Cortex majority shareholder, Jack Ronan.

Another worker, Mick Delaney said the sit-in is beginning to take its toll.

“You can keep this up for a while, but the stress of it all and the tiredness just creeps into you and you just get fed up of being here.

“It’s like a prison basically, if you ask me.”

The workers hoped to pressure Ibec into using its influence to persuade Mr Ronan to pay them their redundancy money.

The state is covering the two weeks’ statutory payment. But the workers say Mr Ronan must pay what they claim was the agreed balance — 0.9 weeks per year of service.

Ibec, which supported Mr Ronan during last month’s Labour Relations Commission talks, refused to comment on its role in the dispute and on the protest which forced the cancellation of meetings.

Mr Power said Ibec’s silence did not surprise him.

“All but two on the protest are aged between 50 and 65. We don’t want to be out here at all, up and down on a Thursday morning,” he said.

Seven Cork TDs, including junior minister Kathleen Lynch and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, met the workers over 10 days ago to discuss what could be done.

That meeting followed Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s meeting with the workers.

But Mr Power said they have heard nothing from the politicians since.

“They should get up and start talking up for us, and if they don’t want to do it, let us know they don’t want to do it,” he said.

“Let’s see what they are doing. The talking is finished, the photographs are finished. We want action out of them now,” he said.

Christy Moore and Declan Sinnott will play a ‘sold out’ benefit concert for the workers in the Triskel Arts Centre tonight.