The Labour Relations Commission (LRC) is to chair further talks on Monday in a dispute over the planned closure of the country's largest bookbinder. Martin Wall, Industry Correspondent, reports.
Staff at Reilly Bookbinders, who have been staging a sit-in at the premises in Wicklow town, for the last 10 days, yesterday rejected redundancy terms put forward by the company.
According to union sources the deal involved the 14 staff sharing €15,000 as well as some proceeds from the sale of equipment and a share in future profits from a new operation which it wants to establish in the Czech Republic. The company has told staff that its operation in Wicklow, where it has been based for 28 years, is insolvent.
Siptu shop steward Debbie Hanlon said that it carried out binding of journals, documents and reports. She said customers included several Government departments, local authorities and a number of universities and libraries around the country.
Ms Hanlon said the company also carried out some work on archival documents.
Siptu in a statement yesterday said the staff at Reilly's Bookbinders had been told by management on July 18th that the company was insolvent and that it was not going to pay them even statutory redundancy payments.
It said most of the workers affected had between 15 and 20 years service. Some had between 25 and 28 years service .
"Reilly Bookbinders has been in Wicklow for 30 years. It was taken over by Dunne and Wilson (Ireland) Ltd more than four years ago. Two years ago the building from which the company operates on the Murrough Industrial Estate was sold to the Wicklow Enterprise Centre for over €900,000. It is understood to have been acquired by Dunne and Wilson for between €400,000 and €450,000", the union stated.
Shane McKean of the Irish Print Group division of Siptu called for the appointment of a liquidator and said that this could lead to the jobs being saved.
"This is a company which had a long and profitable history, but has been asset stripped over the past few years. There is still plenty of work available and it would be a pity if it had to go abroad simply because of existing management policies."
Ms Hanlon said that management had offered to pay staff for their notice period but that to date they had only received payment for one week.
She said that staff were determined to continue with the sit-in until all the money was paid. The protest is preventing equipment, books and documents stored for binding work, from being removed.
In a statement issued before the rejection of its offer to staff, the company said that it would continue to engage with the unions through the LRC.
"We are endeavouring to the best of our ability in very difficult circumstances to come to a satisfactory arrangement with staff. The prompt resolution of this dispute is imperative to the survival of the company which is in a delicate financial position," it stated.