TOUR OPERATOR Budget Travel has been called on to improve its redundancy offer to 75 employees, laid off as part of a rationalisation plan. The company announced recently it would close 14 of its 31 shops around the State with the loss of 75 jobs.
The non-union company was bought by Swedish parent company Primera Travel two years ago. Primera Travel grossed €750 million last year.
Budget Travel offered staff, mainly women who had an average of 10 years service each, statutory redundancy of two weeks pay for each year of service.
Jim Kavanagh of the Transport Salaried Staff Association said there was no acknowledgment of the loyalty and service shown by staff. He also said the standard norm in the industry was for four weeks pay for each year of service.
“The company has refused to negotiate on the package,” he said, “and they will be claiming 60 per cent of the redundancy payments back from the State.”
Willie Penrose of the Labour Party said: “I understand that the employees involved were eager to engage positively with the company in order to try to secure some of the jobs, but unfortunately the company has not been willing to disclose its financial situation and neither has the company been prepared to look at alternatives to redundancy.”
A spokesman for Budget Travel said redundancy payments could not be compared to those made by other companies in the industry that had closed down completely.
