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Thursday, July 29, 2010
Liebherr workers’ protest will go ahead
BY MARY MURPHY
A PROTEST by workers at Liebherr Container Cranes in Killarney will take place this Thursday despite last ditch attempts by Fáilte Ireland to intervene in the row.
The tourism body called on the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) to intervene to prevent an embarrassing high profile protest close to the entrance to the Irish Open golf tournament which gets underway on Thursday.
However attempts by the LRC to convene talks between the company and the two unions, SIPTU and the TEEU, have failed.
Members of both unions at the Killarney plant voted in favour of the action because of a decision by the company to close the factory for two days to facilitate car parking for the Irish Open.
SIPTU branch organiser in Killarney, Donal Tobin, said the union had been willing to attend LRC talks but that the company had declined the offer leaving workers with no choice but to press ahead with their protest plans.
"The invitation to attend the LRC followed from a request from Fáilte Ireland for parties to meet in an attempt to resolve the issue. The unions, on their part, agreed to attend such talks," Mr Tobin said.
"The decision by Liebherr Container Cranes to impose a holiday shutdown is in breach of terms of agreement contained within the comprehensive agreements between Liebherr Container Cranes, SIPTU and the TEEU," the trade union official added.
Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce had called on Liebherr workers to reconsider their position and call off the protest and consider workers in the town’s tourism industry.
But Mr Tobin hit back at interference by the Killarney chamber and accused the business organisation of adopting an anti-worker stance.
"Statements and comments issued by outside parties tend to castigate the workers for this protest while overlooking the fact that this situation was brought about by management of Liebherr and their reluctance to meet the workers half way on the issue," he said.
While failing to confirm the exact nature of Thursday’s protest, Donal Tobin did stress that the demonstration by workers would be aimed only at Liebherr and that no inconvenience would be caused to either participants or spectators at the Irish Open this weekend.
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