Management at Irish Glasss Bottles (IGB) will meet a high-level delegation of TDs today with the threat of disruption to their parent company¿s upcoming annual general meeting hanging over them.
"We'll make the eircom shareholders meeting look like a picnic," said Mr Gerry Lynch, the SIPTU official representing former staff at IGB made redundant following the company's decision to close its glass recycling and bottle-making plant in Ringsend.
Around 200 people protested outside the Dáil today and were met by a number of TDs including Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn and Fianna Fáil TD Mr Eoin Ryan.
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Rory Lynch (12) emerges from a coffin with a bottle from the last batch produced at the IGB factory at Ringsend. IGB made bottles for Guinness, Bulmers, Budweiser and perhaps most famously, Baileys Irish Cream.
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Both men represent the Dublin South East consituency where the IGB plant is situated. They will this afternoon meet with the company's management as part of a delegation that includes the constiuency's other TDs, Minister for Justice, Mr Michael McDowell and Green Party chairman, Mr John Gormley.
They hope to convince the company to abide by a Labour Court recommendation that workers should be given five weeks per year redundancy pay. IGB are currently offering the statutory minimum of half a week per year for less than five years' service or a full week for over five years.
Many staff at IGB have been working at the plant for 20 to 30 years and protestors today said some staff were the second generation of their family to work at IGB, which was set up in the 1920s.
They claim Ardagh, IGB's parent company, have been intent on closing the ringsend facility for some time. "We could see the wind-down, the machines weren't being repaired and that sort of thing," said Mr Paul Clayton who worked in quality control.
They also reject IGB's claim that they cannot afford to pay the Labour Court recommendation. They say the parent company is extremely profitable and has aquired businesses in Canada and Italy since the anouncement of the IGB closure.
They have given up hope of saving any of the 325 jobs and are now involved in a campaign of protests aimed at getting the redundancy package recommended by the Labour Court. "We want political pressure put on the company, we want the redundancy package as agreed," former employee Mr James McGouran said at today's protest.
Their union representative Mr Gerry Lynch said further protests were planned for July 20th and called on politicians to join their campaign. He also warned that the Ardagh agm at the end of the month would be disrupted if a settlement had not been reached. Some staff at IGB have shares in the company.
"We will fight on until this dispute is brought to a conclusion you are happy with," Mr Lynch told today's rally.
Mr Quinn and Mr Ryan were presented with two of the last bottles manufactured at Ringsend and bottles were also sent in to Leinster House for the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern and the Tanaiste, Ms Harney.
Mr Lynch said: "When she [Ms Harney] wants to get rid of it she'll have to send it to England. There no glass recycling in Ireland anymore."