Work resumed last night at Thermo King, Galway, after production workers voted by 270 to 117 to accept proposals brokered by Mr Kieran Mulvey, chief executive of the Labour Relations Commission, to keep the plant open.
The company had threatened to close the plant from today if the workers, members of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union, voted down the terms.
The result was welcomed yesterday by the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, as well as by the company.
However, AEEU regional secretary Mr Tony Geoghegan said the fact that over 100 workers had decided to reject the proposals, despite the threat of closure, showed how deeply alienated many of them were.
Ms Harney said the workers' decision had averted a closure "which would have had enormous personal and economic consequences" for people in the Galway area. Thermo King employs 630 people in the city and supports another 600 employed by suppliers and services.
She said it was "now essential for management, workers and their trade union representatives to work more closely together, foster better relations and ensure that the competitiveness of the company is maintained and improved".
The meeting began at 8.15 a.m. and lasted three hours. Mr Geoghegan said: "It went well under the circumstances." He said his members had little choice but to accept the proposals put together by Mr Mulvey in intensive talks on Friday and Saturday.
"We welcome the fact that the plant is not closing down," he said, but added that the large vote against the proposals was an indication of how workers felt. "We have told management what they will have to do to get the place back on track and establish and build a good relationship."
He accused the company of ignoring union warnings in the past. The company, in welcoming the ballot result, said that "no offence had been intended towards the vast majority of employees when the company referred in an earlier statement to poor performance, absenteeism and lack of co-operation in some departments. Thermo King Europe's success has been built on positive contributions from its employees in the past, and on their behalf we express our deep appreciation for their efforts, now and in the future."