Union officials representing 1,100 workers at Waterford Crystal yesterday met with senior management to discuss redundancy terms for 485 workers who look set to lose their jobs in a major restructuring.
ATWGU regional industrial organiser Walter Cullen and 17 shop stewards representing workers at Waterford Crystal's plants at Kilbarry in Waterford city and Dungarvan met senior management in Waterford yesterday.
Waterford Crystal director of human resource Frank Hickey and director of manufacturing Colin McGookin led the company's management team in the talks which lasted for two hours yesterday afternoon.
The negotiations follow the announcement by Waterford Crystal that it plans to close its Dungarvan plant with the loss of all 390 jobs.
It also plans to shed a further 95 jobs at its Kilbarry operation in Waterford.
A Waterford Crystal spokesman declined to comment on yesterday's negotiations, saying it was company policy not to make any comment to the press while negotiations were under way with trade union representatives.
Workers were informed in Dungarvan on Wednesday that the company was offering them a redundancy package of six weeks' pay per year of service inclusive of their statutory entitlements, but that the payments would be capped at a maximum of two years' salary.
Yesterday Mr Cullen said such a deal was totally unacceptable.
"Under those terms, somebody with 40 years of service would get the same redundancy package as somebody with 17 years of service because of the capping - that's not acceptable."
He said the ATGWU - which accounts for some 1,100 of the total 1,400 Waterford Crystal workforce - would not agree to implement any proposal by the management in the absence of a strategy that was acceptable to all its members.
Mr Cullen said union representatives had sought details on the business plan which the company was using to support its proposed cutting of 485 jobs, but company management had not been able to furnish all these details at the meeting yesterday.
As a result, the meeting had been adjourned until Tuesday to allow management to come back with the full details of the business plan.
Mr Cullen added that he was confident that management would make all these details available at that meeting.
"It means, though, that we have to delay getting back to our members.
"We had hoped to get back to them as soon as possible with the full details so we can brief them, and they can decide on what course of action to take with regard to the future direction of both plants."
