Deputy E. O'Keeffe sought and has been given permission to raise on the Adjournment the serious situation in relation to the bacon curing industry at present. The Deputy has 20 minutes.
Adjournment Debate. - Bacon Curing Industry.
I thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for having given me the opportunity this evening to discuss one of the most serious industrial disputes we have had in many years, affecting the livelihood of many workers and farmers throughout the country in an industry built up to the stage of being regarded now as one of the most efficient in Europe. If steps are not taken to bring the employer and union sides together all of the successes and achievements of those many years will have been lost to our agricultural industry.
The strike to which I refer commenced on 8 October. The value of this industry to the nation is in the region of £160 million, the total live animal production being in the region of two million pigs and our exports are in the region of £40 million. If this dispute is allowed continue the greatest risk encountered will be the arrival of foreign imports at our ports. We have seen what happened in the horticultural industry. If there is to be a continuation of this dispute we will be unable to recover what we shall have lost.
As the House will be aware, bacon and sausages are quite scarce in many of the multiples and small shops throughout the length and breadth of the country. The home market is under very serious threat. It must be remembered that it takes approximately 20,000 pigs per week to service the home market. With the kill having been reduced substantially to a situation in which at present 20,000 pigs cannot be slaughtered, this constitutes a serious situation.
Our cereals industry has also to be considered and, if our pig industry is lost, we shall have lost the former also because 60 per cent of our feed grain is consumed by our pigs. This will have serious repercussions on another area of the farming community. There is also to be considered the dairying industry — dependent on the pig industry — where 100 million gallons of skimmed milk are fed annually to those pigs. As we are aware, this year it was a Godsend to have such an outlet when the dairying industry was suffering a very severe recession because of the economic constraints being placed on agriculture in Europe generally. The loss to that industry should be remembered as well.
I want now to refer to the number of people employed in the industry, a total of 3,500, of whom some 2,000 are on strike. In my area there are three factories on strike. There is the Galtee factory in Mitchelstown, employing 450 people. This is a modern operation with a licence to export to the United States. Then there is CFU in the city of Cork carrying an employment force of 250 and the Denny's operation being developed in Tralee, constituting a total workforce of 900 people in that small area servicing the whole Cork-Kerry region.
It is a well known fact that pigs are very efficient at converting food and grow rather quickly. A very serious situation would obtain at farm level if there is insufficient space for those animals in the days and weeks ahead in the pig-fattening houses, creating further problems and difficulties for farmers, in turn leading to a lack of confidence which can ill be afforded in such a valuable industry.
I appeal to the Minister for Labour to bring both sides in this very valuable industry together. He is aware of its value to the economy, the number of jobs, farmers involved, the implications for the service industry, the foodstuffs industry, the dairying industry, the involvement of all of those people, all of which are important facets of our economy.
If this dispute is allowed to continue there will be a serious deterioration in the quality of pigs left for slaughtering, not alone through lack of confidence, but because many of those producers will not go back into the business. We might well see the end of many of those fine factories built up through the heavy investment in recent years and that, in itself, constitutes a most serious situation.
We have one of the most efficient pig industries in Europe. Indeed, ours is considered more efficient than that of the Danes, which has been the pride and joy of Europe for many years. If this dispute is allowed to continue all of that hard work will have been eroded. Also the number of farm families involved is most important. They must be protected. We have noted that the workers have been refused much needed assistance by many home assistance officers, something we cannot tolerate because the strike has not been of their making.
I appeal to the Minister to intervene urgently in this dispute because we cannot afford to lose this industry or see farmers put out of business. We must restore confidence in the industry and the only way that can be done is through an early settlement of this dispute.
I am delighted to have this opportunity of appealing to the Minister for Labour to intervene in the dispute between the bacon factory owners and their workers at present on strike. This is a very serious strike which could do the country an enormous amount of harm and it is causing our pig producers and the workers involved great hardship.
As was said by Deputy E. O'Keeffe, there are 3,500 people employed in the bacon industry, 2,000 of whom are at present on strike. There would be approximately 20,000 pigs slaughtered each week if those factories at present closed were in operation. The main problem is that many of those pigs are being brought to the North of Ireland to be slaughtered. There is also the danger that bacon and bacon products could be imported from Denmark and other bacon producing countries, having very serious repercussions for us. I am very interested also in the interests of the workers of the Denny's factory in Tralee, in my constituency, where there are 180 people at present unemployed. Because of the modernisation of that factory it is capable of handling 1,200 pigs a day. The workers with the sales vans of Denny's — Denny's being owned by Kerry Co-operative in Kerry — are also on strike at present. They are not working in the county or in adjoining counties and this is causing great hardship to people seeking bacon products around the country.
I know the Labour Court made a settlement recommendation recently offering a 6½ per cent increase with a six months pay pause. Having spoken to the workers in the Denny's factory in Tralee, I understand they are seeking a 10 per cent increase with no pay pause. I appeal to the Minister to use his good offices to bring about a settlement in this very delicate situation. The agricultural sector have suffered enough recently over the milk levy, especially with regard to the mix-up by the Minister for Agriculture. I hope the Minister for Labour will be more successful in bringing this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. I also ask that the workers' families should receive welfare payments from the health boards because I believe that has not been done to date. Some of the pig producers have been complaining that their profits at present are very slight and they might use this as an excuse to get out of pig production. That would be very disappointing so it is very important that the Minister for Labour should intervene as soon as possible to try to get a settlement between the workers and the factory owners. With a little co-operation on all sides it would be possible to end the strike. We cannot afford any more strikes and it is imperative that we reach a settlement. I am sure the Minister for Labour will do everything possible to try to bring about a settlement of this strike which is causing great hardship to pig producers, the workers, factory owners and to those who eat dairy products.
I am pleased to be associated with my colleague's plea to the Minister for Labour to intervene in this dispute. Everybody knows that a strike brings many associated problems and the sooner it is settled the better. Often a word in the right direction or a mediator of the calibre of the Minister for Labour could do the trick. As has already been said, this strike started on 8 October and, unlike most industries, every day that passes puts them in a worse position. The cruelty factor has been mentioned. A specific number of pigs are put into a house and they grow at the rate of 2 lbs per day. As two weeks have passed, they are now two stones heavier and there could not be much room for them now. It is a big problem, particularly since it takes 20,000 pigs per week to satisfy the market. Probably the greatest problem is the prospect of the strike continuing and imports of Danish or other bacon getting a hold on the market here. This undoubtedly, will damage the bacon industry which has enough difficulties with which to contend at present. If Danish bacon takes over it will cost permanent job losses. Now is the time for action to be taken. We know it is a very delicate situation and that the Minister does not have a magic wand but we believe he can bring this ugly business to a satisfactory conclusion.
I am grateful to the Deputies for bringing this matter to the attention of the House because I know they are not trying to make a political football out of this issue and their contributions have been responsible. Nevertheless, there is a belief that the Minister for Labour, of whatever political persuasion, can take off the referee's jersey and join one of the sides to ensure that there is a victor. This is essentially the problem. My responsibilities as Minister for Labour — and previous Ministers for Labour, particularly my colleague, Deputy Kavanagh, have clearly said this — are to ensure that the machinery of industrial relations is kept fully operational, oiled and working effectively.
In this instance, as the Deputies are well aware, that procedure has been followed through in a substantial way. The Labour Court have been involved and they instigated a specific commission investigation into the financial state of a representative number of companies involved. In the light of what is clearly the current critical and economic state of the industry, the Labour Court recommended a pay pause of six months, 4 per cent subsequently for five months, and 2.5 per cent for the next four months. My problem in this regard is that I sympathise with the agricultural — if I may use that word — concern that the Deputies expressed. The bacon industry is a clear indication of the kind of solidarity that can exist between a rural producer and urban worker, where the added value to the economy is self-evident and where, as Deputy O'Keeffe indicated, the industry has in recent years become extremely productive and efficient. However, from my limited knowledge, the pork and bacon industry generally has a very large fluctuation and, according to the report commissioned by the Labour Court, appears to be in considerable difficulties.
In one specific instance in the past, at the request of both sides, I arranged for a mediator to intervene in relation to one company with which the Deputies will be familiar. I do not want to name it in the House. It is significant that the company, which was on the verge of closing in the midlands, managed to come to an arrangement whereby they continue to operate. I urge both sides to start again and look at the machinery available to see if they can negotiate some kind of settlement for all the reasons which Deputy McEllistrim and Deputy Byrne put forward.
I will make every office of mediation open and available and give it every priority but I must stress that it is for both parties to come together. The Department of Labour will respond in whatever way they can and in whatever way both sides feel would be most advantageous and helpful to them in the form of assistance or mediation, either through the Labour Court or through the conciliation service within the structure of the industrial relations framework that we have. I know that is what the Deputies are asking for and both sides should be aware that my responsibility in this area is to ensure that the structures we have carefully put in place over the years are made available to resolve this dispute.
The Deputies referred to the delicacy of the situation and described it in a very responsible manner. I want to maintain that manner of responsibility and, therefore, it would be unwise and improper for me to go much further except to confirm that I share the concern for the industry and the welfare of the families who are out on strike. One should readily recognise that nobody goes on strike lightly; these decisions are taken by workers in a democratic form after a lot of negotiation and decision making. There are obviously two sides to the case, but, from the point of view of the welfare of the workers and their families and of the industry, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the machinery of industrial relations is made fully available to both sides. I urge them to attempt to reopen negotiations with a view to finding a settlement.
The Dáil adjourned at 8.50 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 18 October 1984.