On 6 June I advised the House that the Labour Court had that day issued its recommendations in respect of certain matters referred to it by agreement between the unions and management of Packard following discussions under the aegis of the Labour Relations Commission. I appealed to both sides having had an opportunity to study the recommendations, to accept them in accordance with long-established precedent in Irish industrial relations.
I share the Deputies concerns following the Packard Electric's decision to reject the Labour Court recommendations on redundancy terms for the workforce arising from the impending closure of the plant in Tallaght. However, notwithstanding that, I welcome the acceptance by the Trade Unions and the Packard workforce of the Labour Court recommendations, and in the light of this favourable reaction, I again request the company to urgently reconsider its decision in this issue.
It must be borne in mind that the trade unions and management agreed under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission to refer a number of redundancy matters relating to the terms of severance, including the company's offer of five weeks redundancy per year of service inclusive of statutory entitlement, to the Labour Court for recommendation.
In a fair and balanced manner, the Labour Court entertained submissions from both sides to the dispute and issued its recommendations last Thursday to both parties, which the company has now rejected. It is useful to recap that these recommendations included: five weeks pay per year of service exclusive of statutory entitlements; that for purposes of calculating redundancy payments the outstanding Phases 1 and 2 of Programme for Competitiveness and Work due on 1 March 1995 and 1 March respectively be included; that the company pay the four days holidays claimed; that for purposes of reckoning service the termination date for employees now in work should not be earlier than 7 July 1996, this is to take account of employees on twilight shifts and so on who may finish and in some cases, have finished before that date; and the court would urge the company to give every assistance to employees in the areas of financial advice and job replacement.
However, the Labour Court did not recommend a number of other claims submitted by the unions. I and my colleague, Deputy Bruton, Minister for Enterprise and Employment, are extremely disappointed at the decision by Packard to reject the Labour Court recommendations on redundancy terms for the workforce which has already been dealt a severe blow with the decision to close the Tallaght plant by end July.
At a recent meeting with the parent Delphi Packard company prior to the issue of the Labour Court recommendations, I had urged the company, and also the workers, to accept the pending Labour Court recommendations in accordance with long-established precedent in Irish industrial relations.
In this context the company is fully aware of the Government's commitment to implement without delay the recommendations of the interim report of the Tallaght Task Force dealing with a wide range of issues, including finding a replacement industry, training and retraining of workers, enterprise initiatives for the displaced workers, Packard suppliers and sub-contractors, support for the development of local SMEs and so on.
It has also been conveyed to Delphi Packard and General Motors that every effort should be made to ensure that matters arising from the closure of the Tallaght plant should not adversely affect Ireland's reputation as an attractive location for inward investment, particularly for multinational companies. In this regard, it is in General Motors' interest, especially in view of its continuing significant interests in Ireland and overall corporate image, to manage the closure effectively and ensure that it takes place in an orderly manner. Accordingly, I again appeal to the company in a spirit of goodwill and in recognition of the considerable contribution of the workforce over the years to accept the recommendations of the Labour Court.
We are in ongoing contact with Delphi Packard and General Motors in the USA and are pressing strongly for acceptance of the Labour Court recommendations. Such acceptance would facilitate the intensive efforts under way to provide alternative employment for the Tallaght workforce and create an environment favourable to tackling the huge social and economic problems arising from the plant closure.
