AFTER talks with the parent company in Germany today, Semperit management is expected to tell unions tomorrow of its latest position on a redundancy package for workers at the Ballyfermot plant. The tyre factory is due to close on December 6th and the company is pulling out of Ireland.
Workers voted yesterday to consider strike action if the company refuses to accept Labour Court recommendations on redundancy terms.
At a general meeting in Ballyfermot, about 600 workers voted on a show of hands to support the Labour Court recommendation. This would give five weeks pay per year of service; the inclusion of the final 3.5 per cent of the PCW agreement in calculations; and payment in lieu of notice.
The unions say the company is offering four weeks pay per year of service. The works council, which represents the four unions, SIPTU, TWU, AWU and MSF, presented the Labour Court recommendations to the workers.
A group of senior executives from the Ballyfermot plant, including the managing director, Mr Jack Golden, and the human resources manager, Mr Pat Doyle, is meeting the board of Semperit's parent company, Continental AG, in Hanover, Germany, this morning.
A company spokeswoman said the local management "have to decide the next step, and it involves the main board of Continental".
The executives are expected to meet union representatives tomorrow with Continental's final terms.
Last week a Korean firm, Kumho, pulled out of negotiations to buy the plant, saying the price was too high. Cooper Tyres of the United States is still said to be in negotiations.
On Friday the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, faxed a letter to the Hanover headquarters seeking a meeting. A Department spokesman said it was hoped the meeting would take place this week.
Yesterday's statement, passed by the workers, calls on the Continental board to finance the redundancy package as recommended by the Labour Court. It welcomed the statement from Mr Bruton calling on the company to accept the Labour Court decision.
It asked Continental to co operate with efforts to sell the factory to another tyre manufacturer or to employees through an employee buy out. The unions have talked to a US investment bank, American Capital Strategies, about a buy out deal.
The works council secretary, Mr John Flannery, said they met management yesterday morning before addressing the workers. He said management seemed to be implying "some kind of compromise, a kind of Solomon like carving up of the difference".
But he said the unions rejected this.
The meeting heard angry contributions from the floor, with some workers suggesting a sit in and a boycott of the company's products.
The allocation of £30,000 through the State development agency, Forbairt, to help fund an employee buy out was described by one worker as a "pittance Mr Flannery said the union was prepared for all eventualities", including industrial action.
