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Element six talks for Labour Court
UNIONS and management at troubled Shannon diamond maker Element Six have agreed to go to the Labour Court in an attempt to resolve differences over a rescue plan for the company and redundancy for 207 staff who would still lose their jobs under the plan.
Element Six, formerly De Beers, shocked its staff in July when it announced that manufacturing and distribution would be moved to lower cost locations overseas and 370 of the 450-strong workforce would be made redundant. The company employs over 100 Limerick people, it is understood.
Local management then brokered a deal with the corporation to keep a more streamlined highly-skilled manufacturing base that would see 163 jobs retained, bringing the total workforce up to around 250.
SIPTU and the TEEU said they would not enter conciliation until the company increased the redundancy on offer to workers with the company replying that the whole rescue plan could fail if talks got bogged down on redundancy.
Redundancy has been on the table at LRC hearings in the Castletroy Park Hotel but the Commission, with the agreement of both parties, last week referred the dispute to the Labour Court.
"We welcome the outcome of today's talks at the LRC as a positive and constructive step in our efforts to reach agreement on the sustainability plan, which is about securing a future for our operations at Shannon and an additional 163 jobs," said Element Six Shannon general manager Ken Sullivan.
Redundancy remains a sticking point for unions. While the initial offer has been improved, it falls far short of the eight weeks per year of service agreed in severance with staff only last December. Element Six has said that bargain was struck in different circumstances and it simply "can't afford" to improve the pot of €8 million currently available for redundant staff.
And unions also have difficulties with some elements of the sustainability plan, including changes to shifts, increased workload, health and safety and other terms and conditions to employment.
Meanwhile the Department of Enterprise has said the state subsidy to pay wages at Element Six is limited to €500,000.
Pat Keane, regional secretary of the TEEU, told the Limerick Leader a subsidy of €204 per week per retained worker for 15 months would add up to around €3 million.
But a Department spokesman replied:
"It is the policy of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment not to comment on the detail of financial supports provided to individual enterprises through its agencies.
This is particularly the case when such supports are in the process of being negotiated or applied for."
"In accordance with EU state aid rules, the support available for an individual enterprise, or for group of related enterprises, under the newly announced Employment Subsidy Scheme for its 15 month duration is limited to a maximum of €500,000."
The company has also claimed that its €8 million redundancy pot is net of the 60 per cent rebate under the Social Insurance Fund.
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