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IDA must intervene on National Pen jobs

11 May 2020

Statement by Ged Nash TD
Spokesperson on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform
  • SIPTU must be enabled to represent workers at Dundalk plant

Labour TD for Louth, Ged Nash has called on the IDA and the Minister for Business to intervene to rescue the 176 jobs at risk in National Pen in Dundalk.
Deputy Nash said:

“The company callously emailed staff late Friday afternoon announcing that they plan to make 126 staff redundant and move 50 additional Japanese sector positions to Japan throughout this year.

“I understand from speaking to some staff that a further email issued to some staff later that evening that suggests to me that the company is unilaterally ‘handpicking’ staff for redundancy before it even engages in a modicum of consultation as it is legally obliged to do.

“The entire approach of the company is high-handed and arrogant and is causing huge anxiety at the Dundalk facility.

“I understand that the firm plans to initiate the 30 day consultation from this week.

“The firm should enable SIPTU - which has a large number of members on-site - to professionally represent the staff whose jobs and livelihoods are at risk.

“This is a company which has received significant grant aid support from the Irish taxpayers (€1.5 million from IDA since 2015) yet has repeatedly decided to ignore Labour Court recommendations time and time again.

"It is high time they did right by their dedicated staff and that they engage meaningfully to save the at-risk jobs that appear to be in the process of being off-shored to lower cost labour markets by the company under the cover of the pandemic.”