Protecting workers - Redundancy must be paid

THE 32 former Vita Cortex workers protesting at what was the company’s Cork headquarters are in a dreadful position.

The company has insisted that it does not have the money to pay redundancy terms, arguing that the money needed to discharge that obligation is tied up by NAMA because of investments made elsewhere.

The company, which runs operations in Athlone and Belfast, is playing a game of cat-and-mouse and leaving their former workers — some with more than 40 years’ service — high and dry. Would these workers have enjoyed the benefits of the investment controlled by NAMA had it gone well? That’s very unlikely and to argue that payments are dependent on these funds crosses the line between decency and sharp practice.

Government — and the unions — should do all they can to ensure that the company, or any other one in a similar position, cannot welch on its obligations.