A continuing sit-in by 45 former workers at a Wexford engineering plant is placing a further 17 jobs in jeopardy, the company has claimed.
Pierce Engineering said it had had no alternative but to put the 17 workers in its Pierce Pack division on short-time because of the "illegal" sit-in. The 45 staff, who lost their jobs after refusing to agree terms for relocating to another premises, are in dispute about redundancy terms.
Mr Gerry Currid, a director of the company, said unions had asked management at the Labour Commission to make the Pierce Pack workers redundant.
"We are astonished at now being asked to consider the redundancy of another 17 employees on top of the 45 jobs lost already, when all had a viable future," he said.
However, Mr Billy Kyne of the AEEU, which represents most of the workers, accused the company of being "disingenuous".
The company, he said, had made known its intention to sell the Pierce Pack division nine months ago. It was well-known that the people behind a proposed management buy-out wished to have a clean start-up with limited recruitment.
It was incorrect, he added, that redundancy had been sought for all 17 employees, as some were involved in the proposed buy-out.
Mr Currid said it was a "shame" it had to place the 17 on short-time as there were "good orders on our books".
