Workers stage sit-in as ‘viable’ factory closes

Workers involved in one of the longest sit-ins in Irish industrial relations history have backed staff in another dispute.

The former Vita Cortex workers last night pledged their full support for the Hele Windows workers in Midleton, Co Cork, who are occupying the plant after the firm ceased trading with the loss of up to 20 jobs.

Hele closed suddenly on Thursday, leaving its staff in the lurch and owing industry creditors at least €140,000, as well as €150,000 to customers who had paid deposits.

The Hele staff have vowed to occupy the plant pending the outcome of legal proceedings today.

Hele director Natalie Lentzy is expected to petition the High Court for the appointment of a liquidator.

However, Naas-based Profile Systems, one of Hele’s largest suppliers and one of its biggest creditors, is expected to petition to appoint its own liquidator.

The Vita Cortex workers backed the Hele sit-in as they attended the world premiere of 161 Days, a documentary charting their struggle, screened last night as part of the Cork Film Festival.

“Our wish after our campaign ended was that this kind of situation would never happen again,” said Cal O’Leary, one of the longest-serving Vita Cortex workers.

Just saw the excellent '161 days: The Vita Cortex story' as part of @CorkFilmFest. Excellent show, highly recommended.

— Kevin Higgins (@higginskev) November 12, 2012

“But here we are again with another sit-in. It seems to me that nothing has changed. The politicians need to do something but our calls seem to have fallen on deaf ears.”

Hele Windows was founded in 1970 and was Ireland’s first PVC window manufacturer.

A steady stream of customers called to the fact-ory yesterday enquiring about deposits and orders.

Ted Hartnett, from Crookstown, who paid a €5,000 deposit in June for doors and windows, said he had been getting the “run around” from Hele executives for the past six weeks.

He reportedly saw some of the windows and doors he ordered on the factory floor yesterday.

A woman who paid €1,500 to Hele in June for a front door which has never been delivered said she had been “fobbed off” in recent weeks.

Sales team member Pat Wickham said staff believed the firm was viable in the right hands.

It is estimated that about €350,000 of orders are almost ready to go out the door.

Fellow worker Emmet Sheehan said he hoped the sit-in would show Hele’s customers some respect.

“Our customers have been extremely understanding. All is not lost just yet. We just hope that we can keep the place going.”

Ms Lentzy, who cleaned out her office late on Sunday night, was not answering phone calls yesterday.

The Hele sit-in is the second high-profile sit-in in Cork since the Vita Cortex dispute ended earlier this year. Target Express workers staged a sit-in in August.

Declan O’Connell of WildAcre Productions spent five months following the Vita Cortex dispute for his 40-minute documentary, 161 Days: The Vita Cortex Workers Struggle.

“While it tells the story of the dispute, it is only one document in what will, in time, be a much more detailed history,” he said.

The documentary was edited by Barra O’Connell at the WildAcre’s post-production facility, the Barn Studio.

Great admiration for courage of workers after watching 161 Days The Vita Cortex Struggle by Declan OConnel @CorkFilmFest

— Lunasa PR (@lunasapr_) November 12, 2012