Blockade lifted at Greyhound plant

Striking workers at the Greyhound Waste Recycling and their bosses were staying quiet yesterday on a new deal for talks that they hammered out in the High Court.

Their legal teams agreed to tell Ms Justice Bronagh O’Hanlon that peace talks would take place over the next week and, for the time being, no further comment would be made.

The company, which employs 400, had brought a motion before the court seeking to commit to prison all those identified as having blatantly breached High Court orders restraining them from interfering with waste collections in Dublin.

Louis McEntaggart, counsel for the company, told Judge O’Hanlon the parties had agreed to an adjournment of the motion for a week to facilitate discussions. The judge had earlier invited both sides to renew negotiations.

Mr McEntaggart yesterday told the court that 255,000 customers had not had their waste collected due to a blockade at the company’s Clondalkin depot by workers and their supporters. Greyhound claimed some workers were in contempt of court orders granted last June restraining blockades and picketing of Greyhound’s bin lorries at the depot and on the public streets.

As the judge and legal teams for the parties discussed the possibility of new talks, face-to-face protests were taking place outside the Four Courts between striking and non-striking employees of the company. Many fear they may lose their jobs as a result of the dispute.

William Hamilton, barrister for 53 workers and Siptu, the union representing them, said Greyhound had been seeking orders of an “extreme and serious” nature which could lead to the jailing of the workers.

Mr Hamilton had asked the court for a short adjournment to allow his clients to file replying affidavits to Greyhound’s allegations. He said there had been ongoing talks at worker and employer representative level. A ballot had been ordered only on Monday. Judge O’Hanlon, adjourning the application for committal until next Tuesday, told a courtroom packed with workers and their supporters that she wished all concerned the very best in finding a resolution.