Staff demand answers over Target closure

Workers at the Target Express depot in Cork last night vowed that neither they nor the freight held there will leave the facility until they get answers.

The workers, whose service with the company ranges from four months to 12 years, say they are owed two weeks’ pay. They want to know when they will receive their owed wages and their entitlements for their years of service.

“We want our rights. We pay out taxes. We just want a bit of respect,” said Tom Cullen, one of 18 staff staging the sit-in at the Little Island facility.

They were joined by staff from the Galway facility last night. Mr Cullen said another sit-in was happening simultaneously in the Limerick depot while staff were also holding a stoppage in Dublin.

“There is no dialogue from the company,” said Mr Cullen, who has been with the company for three years.

“There is nothing from the company, only this morning to say a receiver was coming down, that we should not be in the building, that we should leave, that there is no money in there, ‘go away home’.”

Mr Cullen said Target told them the receiver would “deal” with their P45 information. As of last evening they had seen no sign of that receiver.

“We want someone to talk to us, to let us know what is happening. We will sit in for as long as it takes.

“We are totally resolute. We are not moving. There is no freight being shipped in or shipped out at the moment. We are not moving until we get dialogue from the com-pany or someone to approach us from the government departments.”

Mr Cullen said staff had no inclination the firm was in trouble. “We are a viable company. We ship 20% of overall freight throughout Ireland. We are a profitable company.

“What happened between the Revenue and the company? There is no leverage between the company and Revenue because the talks broke down.

“Our boss, Seamus, approached three politicians and they turned their back on him. They don’t want to know about a haulage company with 399 people now on the dole with an overall bill for social welfare of €5.3m. The Government should have a bit of cop-on after the Vita Cortex situation. They now have more people on the dole.”