Ned O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

I would like to raise a matter on the adjournment which is very close to my heart. It concerns the 35 Dairygold workers who are on strike in Mallow. They are being forced to accept the minimum wage, which is nearly half their existing wage packet. This is not acceptable to me, nor to the vast majority of the community. Dairygold workers have suffered heavily in the past few years as 1,000 jobs have been lost. Many workers have been forced to accept this in other sectors of society. When Deputy Martin took over as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, he came to the rescue of Dairygold workers in my area. If he was there at the beginning, when this rationalisation programme was being put in place, there would have been a different outcome. He has an understanding of the need for the working people and this is about passion rather than economics.

Globalisation is mentioned. Globalisation is a new form of communism. It is a right wing way of doing things and that is part of the problem. There is outsourcing and many workers have suffered due to that. I come from a party that always represented the middle ground in Irish society and life. The same situation is evident in Irish Ferries. In my area, it is not good enough. North Cork has been destroyed by this organisation, which is the economic driver of the area. This is a bread and butter issue and these people cannot accept this level of wages. I ask for the intervention of the Labour Court or some labour organisation that can identify the problem and sort it out.

This organisation recently lost approximately £20 million when it purchased Aeron Valleys in Wales. Must we ask the workers of north Cork to pay for this error of judgment in the investment strategy of this organisation? What effect does the 1990 labour Act have on this organisation? The workers told me that they cannot picket other businesses because of that Act. These include Galtee Foods, the bottled milk division, the consumer food division and the feed division, working within one organisation. I am not aware that the 1990 Act put any impediment in place where people cannot picket legally wherever they like. They have been told that they cannot go to the gate of the other areas. In the balance sheet of the company for 2004, the management was proud to boast that it reduced the payroll by 19.5% against the background of the national wage agreements. That is a good boast, but it is not good enough for me. It also consolidated two cheese plants into one, a further saving of the workforce. This is a sad scene.

Dairygold is about to be privatised. Does the management want to go on the stock market at the expense of its workforce? That will make the rich richer and the poor poorer. The management will go off with many millions in options, while the ordinary worker will be left with little or nothing. They will be offered a pittance in the share adjuster. This is not good enough in Irish society, nor in the party to which I belong. I ask that action be taken.

Irish workers are now the pawns of globalisation and outsourcing is rife in all sections of industry in this country. This is not good enough and it is a matter for Government to look after its people and all sectors of society. We are dealing with human beings.

We are approaching Christmas and the festive season. I want this matter of Dairygold to be sorted out. I ask for the immediate intervention of Mr. Kieran Mulvey and the Labour Relations Commission to put this matter right. The Dairygold organisation is at fault here, not the workforce. I met the workforce on Sunday and I was appalled at what I was told. I am not from a trade union background, but I am from a background of fair play and honesty and that is what I seek.

I thank the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, for taking this Adjournment debate. I am proud that a Cabinet Minister is present. In her short time in the Department of Education and Science she has made a serious impact on that sector of Government. In her reply I hope she will use her influence in helping the workers in my area.

See this speech in context