Aircraft maintenance workers in crunch meeting

Workers at the troubled SR Technics plant are meeting today to hammer out a way forward for the campaign to save their jobs.

They will also vote on recommendations by the Labour Court to resolve a row with the company, despite bosses having already rejected key elements of the deal.

Pat Ward, branch organiser at trade union Siptu, said several issues between workers and the aircraft maintenance firm remain outstanding.

“Quite apart from the whole question of pensions and redundancy terms there are a whole range of other unresolved matters,” he said.

“These include employment welfare facilities that the company promised to address and never put in place.”

More than 200 staff at the plant blocked off the main entrance to Dublin Airport for one hour yesterday, over the planned closure and loss of more than 1,100 jobs.

A Dublin Airport Authority spokeswoman said there were some traffic delays at the airport roundabout but no disruption to flight schedules.

SR Technics confirmed that about 600 employees will be laid off tomorrow, while a further 100 staff are expected to be made redundant during this month.

The workers say they still have not been told by management who will be among those to go at the end of the week.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore urged the Government to step in to save the jobs before the plant is completely wound down by the end of August.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen insisted that the Government and state agencies were working hard to find a solution to the issue.