Pharma giant employees begin voting on cuts ‘deal’

Employees at pharmaceutical giant Bausch + Lomb have begun voting on a cutbacks "deal" which could decide if the plant will remain open into the future.

Over 1,100 people work at the contact lens manufacturer in Waterford and have been considering a set of proposals in recent days which management hope will shave €18.5m from the payroll costs. A result on the secret ballot being conducted among union members yesterday and today should be known by tonight.

The plan includes almost 200 redundancies and a 7.5% cut to core pay which, coupled with the elimination of bonuses and a cut to shift allowance, would result in an effective reduction in wages of almost 15%, according to staff.