Ten former workers at Tipperary Natural Mineral Water will protest outside its Dublin distribution plant this morning, saying they were made redundant for joining a trade union.
David Whelan, a Siptu member and former shop steward there, said he had worked there for four years as a fork-lift operator. “Over the last few years, the management had been making deductions and cuts to our wages, saying the company was losing money.”
The latest accounts for MJ Gleeson (Investments) Ltd show it had a turnover of €261 million last year and profits of €4.7 million. In 2010 it had a profit of €4.5 million.
Mr Whelan said he and 16 colleagues joined Siptu to secure negotiations with management over pay cuts. “About four weeks ago, of 17 members of Siptu, 13 were made redundant.”
While three of the redundancies were voluntary, he added, 10 people were dismissed on the grounds that they were not sufficiently skilled.
