Vita Cortex rejects mediation proposals
In a statement, the company said that the “guidance proposals” suggested by the mediators did not provide a solid basis for a resolution to the dispute. The company said the guidance is inconsistent, claiming that it does not treat all staff equally.
“The board and management of Vita Cortex regret to announce that it is unable to accept the guidance provided by the mediators last Friday following the failure of the mediation process,” said a company statement.
“The conclusion of the management finds that the guidance suggested by the mediators do not provide a solid basis for a resolution to the dispute.”
The company said it believes it has discharged its duties and obligations as required by all relevant authorities.
SIPTU members at Vita Cortex reacted with disgust at management’s decision.
SIPTU organiser Anne Egar said: “The guidance issued by the independent mediators last Friday, if accepted by the company, would have provided for a fair and equitable conclusion to this dispute.
“Instead of accepting this guidance the company issued a statement today which contains a number of untruths and legally questionable assertions.
“These include an assertion that SIPTU has sought to exclude some Vita Cortex workers from sharing in an equitable settlement to this dispute. This claim is completely without foundation,” added Ms Egar.
“The company statement claims that the guidance provided by the mediators ‘ignores the company’s confirmed inability to pay redundancy’. This claim of ‘inability to pay’ is directly contradicted by a previous public offer from the owner of Vita Cortex, Jack Ronan, to provide the workers with ex-gratia redundancy payments totalling €180,000.”
