Two more strike days planned at Offaly meat plant

AFTER completing a second day of strike action today (Monday), workers at Carroll's Cuisine in Tullamore are planning two further work stoppages.

SIPTU members at the meat factory withdrew their labour for 12 hours on Sunday, November 16 and again on Monday, November 17.

The union announced after the second stoppage that two additional 12-hour strikes will take place on Friday, November 21 and Saturday, November 22 “following the failure of management to engage in discussions on pay, working conditions and union recognition at the meat processing plant”.

SIPTU manufacturing divisional organiser Neil McGowan said the decision to escalate industrial action follows what he said were weeks of management delays and an abrupt refusal to continue talks.

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“Workers in Carroll’s Cuisine voted last month in favour of industrial and strike action but agreed to suspend planned stoppages to allow for negotiations. At our meeting on Friday, 31st October, SIPTU representatives presented a constructive proposal aimed at ensuring the company’s financial stability while also addressing pay improvements and securing union recognition for collective bargaining,” Mr McGowan said.

“Management requested time to consider this proposal before stating it was not prepared to engage further on the outstanding matters with the workers’ chosen SIPTU representatives. Management has chosen confrontation rather than compromise. Our members will not be denied their basic right to fair pay and to be represented by their Union. This left them with no option but to escalate the industrial action at the plant.”

He added: “The workers have been heartened with the support from the local community for their action. It is in the interest of all workers in Ireland that union recognition is respected and people earn a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.”

Mr McGowan added that Carroll’s Cuisine’s parent company, Sofina Foods, has publicly acknowledged shortcomings in how it has engaged with staff, yet has failed to address the core issues at the heart of the dispute.

“This conflict fundamentally stems from the company’s refusal to respect workers’ right to collectively bargain through their Union. Ireland remains an outlier in Western Europe in this regard. Working people, like those in Carroll’s, should not be forced into industrial action simply to secure fair treatment,” he said.

SIPTU members will maintain pickets during all stoppages, including the two additional 12-hour actions scheduled for next Friday and Saturday, both beginning at 7am.