Siptu accused in escalation of Vita Cortex dispute

The employers’ union Ibec has accused Siptu of “a pattern of misrepresentation” of the facts of the bitter Vita Cortex dispute.

In a major escalation in the 10-week sit-in at the Cork factory, Ibec’s regional director, Helen Barry, said Vita Cortex never gave an undertaking to pay ex gratia redundancy payments and has “discharged its full statutory obligations to the employees concerned”.

Details of her letter emerged last night, a day after former Vita Cortex director Sean McHenry described the picketing of his home as “blackmail” designed to secure additional ex gratia payments from personal funds of the directors.