Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 2 Oct 1996

Vol. 469 No. 3

Adjournment Debate. - Mullagh (Cavan) Wellmann Plant.

Mr. B. Smith

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this important issue on the Adjournment and am glad to note the Minister is in attendance to respond.

I sought this debate because of my serious worries and those of my constituents about this continuing dispute, there having been a strike at Wellmann International Limited, the largest employer in the region, with some 490 employees at this factory since 14 July last. Since this plant was established in 1973 very valuable, worthwhile employment has been provided in Mullagh. I know many of the staff at the plant and the dedicated service given by many of them, some practically since its inception.

There is and has been serious concern in County Cavan about this continuing industrial dispute. It is obvious, particularly within the competitive international environment in which companies must trade nowadays, that they must retain their markets and any loss of production time, and the repercussions from that, must be viewed very seriously. Stark warnings have been issued by senior management of Wellmann International Limited about reviewing their investment policy in Ireland. Over the years this company has had a policy of continual investment, involving substantial expenditure, in upgrading its plant.

County Cavan and adjoining areas cannot afford to lose such a factory particularly since 490 people are directly employed there in addition to large numbers of others in downstream enterprises. The closure of the Wellmann factory would have catastrophic consequences for County Cavan, a scenario we cannot countenance. The personal, economic and social consequences of such a closure for a number of local communities are too terrible even to contemplate.

Since requesting this debate, I was glad to learn that the directors of Wellmann International Limited have announced that production will recommence next week and that they have invited all employees to return to work not later than Wednesday next, 9 October. A general meeting of all SIPTU members has been called in Mullagh for Friday next, 4 October. It is my hope that it will be possible to reach the necessary agreements within a matter of days.

I take this opportunity to appeal to the Minister, who I know has taken an active part in negotiations in recent weeks, to ensure that all the expertise available to his Department, the Labour Court and the Labour Relations Commission is made available to ensure that the outstanding issues at dispute are resolved urgently. While the Minister may state that he cannot become directly involved in industrial disputes, he can bring the influence of his office to bear and I urge him to do so. I appeal to him this evening to use every single resource available to him and to the State agencies to assist in reaching the necessary agreement to safeguard and maintain these 490 jobs.

Mr. T. Kitt

I thank Deputy Smith for sharing his time with me. I warmly welcome the statement on the part of the company inviting its workers to return to work not later than Wednesday, 9 October. The nature of the change being proposed by the company is far-reaching but necessary in order to maintain competitiveness with low-cost countries producing commodity fibres. The Wellmann statement demonstrates a positive interest on the part of the company to reopen real dialogue and demonstrates that in discussions with SIPTU the company values the work done to date and the need to build on that valuable progress.

As Deputy Smith said, a general meeting of SIPTU workers has been called for Friday next. The potential exists for the company and SIPTU to resolve their differences through dialogue and get the company back into full production. It is also my belief that the President of SIPTU, Mr. Edmond Browne, has played a crucial role.

I welcome the Minister's statement this morning but why did it take him ten weeks to deal with the issue? It is important for the Minister to show where he stands — I am not asking where the Government stands because with three Ministers in the Department we will never know that. The consequences are catastrophic for the workforce and I am convinced these jobs can be saved. The Minister should have got involved at a much earlier stage.

Despite the Minister's very valuable contribution in this instance, there is confusion in the Department as to his role in protecting jobs and which Minister has responsibility in this regard. I instance Packard, Semperit, Wellmann and the plant in Tipperary where there were signals well in advance that there were problems regarding job losses.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy is straying from the subject matter before us.

Mr. T. Kitt

Ministerial intervention came at the eleventh hour in many cases, sometimes by different Ministers, and that is not good enough. Usually after announcements of closures there are announcements about new jobs in other areas. High tech jobs, as in the case of Wellman, and jobs in information technology areas are very valuable and labour intensive and I ask the Minister to please refrain from the PR exercise of announcing new jobs in other parts of the country. While I acknowledge the importance of providing new jobs, the Minister should not take his eye off the real need to protect existing jobs. That issue is central to this debate. Deputy Smith and I, in raising this matter, ask the Minister to adopt a hands-on approach with regard to Wellman and Semperit and ensure that the jobs, which are valuable not only for the workers but for their families and communities, are saved.

Minister for Enterprise and Employment (Mr. R. Bruton)

I thank Deputies for raising this issue. I particularly acknowledge the interest of Deputy Brendan Smith who was anxious to attend a meeting I had with council and public representatives in Cavan, but due to a family bereavement was unable to attend. I express my sympathy to him. His very keen interest in this matter is shared by all Deputies and councillors in Cavan.

Before this strike began the company and SIPTU, representing the employees in dispute with the company, attended the Labour Court in an effort to resolve the dispute. The Labour Court issued a recommendation on the dispute, which was accepted in full by the company. However, the terms of the Labour Court recommendation were not accepted by the SIPTU members, who subsequently commenced strike action that has continued for some 12 weeks now. In recent days Mr. Eddie Browne, General President of SIPTU, engaged in positive discussions with senior management personnel of the company and substantial progress was achieved on most of the issues in dispute. Regrettably, it appears not to have been possible to reach full agreement.

As a result, I indicated yesterday and again today that I was gravely concerned about the prospects of the factory reopening. The company has since then announced that it intends to restart production next Wednesday and that it will invite all employees not currently at work to return to work not later than that date. I know that informal contacts between the company and SIPTU are continuing and I hope that they will help the striking SIPTU workers to find an agreed solution based on the very helpful work done by Mr. Browne. In the interests of ensuring that the plant remains in Mullagh with 500 jobs which are so vital to the economic well-being of the area, I urge all concerned to reflect carefully on the current situation. The responsibility for resolving this dispute rests directly with the parties involved; it is within their capacity to bring matters to a satisfactory end. Of course, the Labour Court remains available to the parties, but the people involved must be willing to realistically address the issues.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.15 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 3 October 1996.