Vita workers protest at home of Cork director

Vita Cortex workers have taken their protest to the home of one of the company’s owners in Douglas, Cork.

A number of workers marched yesterday outside the home of the former managing director of the company, Seán McHenry.

The foam manufacturing staff say the move is a part of an escalation of their protest to secure a previously agreed redundancy package of 2.9 weeks’ wages per year of service.

The company has pleaded inability to pay, but workers claim that the majority owner, Jack Ronan, has enough wealth to pay up.

Mr McHenry, a 10% owner and director, is the father-in-law of Jack Ronan.

The workers have been engaged in a sit-in protest at the Kinsale Road plant for the last 41 days.

Greg Marshall, who gave more than 30 years service to the company, said: “We want to show that we are not going away.

“We can’t keep sitting around the factory waiting for something to happen. We need to step it up.

“It is nothing personal against Mr McHenry. We don’t want to be marching outside someone’s home, but we feel we have to show our annoyance at what has happened.”

The workers say Mr McHenry was always someone they looked up to and respected until the redundancy dispute began.

Mr McHenry could not be contacted this morning.

SIPTU official Anne Egar said plans were being formulated for a mass rally in the city centre.

Ms Egar accepted that legally the workers were only entitled to statutory redundancy of two weeks’ wages per year of service. But she insisted that Mr Ronan has the personal means to honour an agreement to pay 2.9 weeks.

“We are trying to keep up the public pressure on Mr Ronan. All unions will be asked to attend the mass rally.”

Article courtesy of the Evening Echo newspaper.