Most of the 400 workers being made redundant at the Avon Arlington factory in Portarlington are to be offered severance packages worth more than £27,000.
They are to ballot on the offer on Monday. It is one of the best deals negotiated for the private sector in the 1990s.
A breakthrough in negotiations was achieved early yesterday morning after marathon talks at the Labour Relations Commission. The SIPTU team was led by the reg ional secretary, Mr Jack O'Connor.
The package provides for 6 1/2 weeks pay for each year of service, inclusive of statutory entitlements. What makes the deal attractive is that there is no ceiling on the amounts that can be paid.
The average service of permanent Avon staff is 17 years, and average basic pay is £251 a week. Most people at the plant can expect to get £27,735 or more. There is also a provision for redundancy pay to seasonal staff who have at least 104 weeks' service and who were employed within the past two years. This is expected to cover most of the 80 people affected.
Clerical and administrative staff, who are not members of SIPTU, will receive the same terms as the union members, if the latter vote to accept the offer on Monday.
Meanwhile, SIPTU's national executive has agreed to accept the recommendations of the High Level Group on Trade Union Recognition, which proposes increased powers for the Labour Court in dealing with employers unwilling to recognise unions.
The union will now be voting for the proposals at this year's biennial conference of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
SIPTU's president, Mr Jimmy Somers, was a member of the High Level Group.