Dáil debates

Tuesday, 13 December 2005

Adjournment Debate.

Industrial Disputes.

11:00 pm

Photo of Ned O'KeeffeNed O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Photo of Mary HanafinMary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Ned O'Keeffe for his comments. I am taking this Adjournment debate on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

I should put on record the fact that the Minister does not have a direct role in the resolution of this or similar disputes. I can, however, understand Deputy Ned O'Keeffe's concerns about the restructuring proposals at the Dairygold Co-Operative Society Limited milk powder plant in Mallow where the company has announced that 35 full-time positions will be affected from January 2006. From then, work will only be available on a seasonal basis for these staff. It has been reported that the company's proposals for the Mallow plant could result in a reduction in the number of working weeks per worker to between 26 and 30 weeks per year. The milk powder plant at Mallow is one of three operated by Dairygold. The other two are located at Mitchelstown and Mogeely.

Dairygold Co-Operative is one of the major employers in the south and is Ireland's largest farmer owned food company and multi-purpose agribusiness. As well as dairy production, its business interests include meat processing, animal feed manufacture, grain trading, the supply of farm inputs and the provision of farm services, including animal breeding and livestock marketing. It also provides retail services. Dairygold Co-Op employs approximately 2,000 people and has an annual turnover in excess of €1 billion.

The union claims that management tried to introduce new shift arrangements in November, four weeks ahead of schedule. When the workers continued to work the old shift pattern, they were issued with written warnings and a number of workers were suspended. SIPTU served seven days' notice of industrial action on the company. At meetings up to and including 6 December 2005 with the company and SIPTU, the Labour Relations Commission succeeded in facilitating the resolution of some of the issues in dispute and others were referred to the Labour Court. On 6 December, the Labour Relations Commission made proposals for the resolution of some of the outstanding issues in dispute between the parties. I understand that both the company and the trade union representatives agreed to recommend the LRC proposals to senior management and their members, respectively. However, the SIPTU members rejected elements of the proposals and industrial action began on Thursday last, 8 December 2005.

The Labour Relations Commission has continued to maintain contact with the parties and has invited both sides to conciliation talks to explore ways of resolving the outstanding issues. I understand that the LRC is meeting the parties in Mallow this evening to seek a resolution of the outstanding issues. I encourage both sides to engage constructively with the LRC in an effort to find a resolution to the dispute.

The system of industrial relations in Ireland is essentially voluntary in nature. For cases where the parties have failed to find a solution to outstanding issues, however, the State provides the dispute settling machinery of the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court. The experience and expertise of these services are available to the parties. Ultimately however, responsibility for the resolution of issues in dispute lies with the parties concerned.