Government must update legislation

DESPITE yesterday’s 11th-hour bid to resolve the Irish Glass Bottle stalemate over redundancy payments, this vexed question has concentrated the minds of workers around the country in a way that few issues could achieve.

The prospect of leaving the workplace with a pittance after years of toil and commitment to employers is reprehensible.

Today’s planned protest in virtually every large city and town, from Dublin to Athlone, Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Cork, Clonmel and Roscommon, is a mark of just how high feelings are running in trade union circles.

As the law stands, employees can be left with only half a week’s pay per year of service if they are under 41 years of age and one week’s pay per year above that age.

In the case which prompted the protest action, the firm concerned is refusing to concede figures above the statutory minimum requirements, even though

employees were awarded five weeks’ pay per year of service in June.

This scenario underlines the need for Government to update legislation relating to redundancy payments, which has been on Statute books for the past 35 years.