Bord na Móna workers open to further talks

Though Bord na Móna workers have voted in favour of action arising from a pay increase claim, SIPTU's Oliver McDonagh said they are "open to further talks" with the company, but only if the talks have the potential to bear fruit. After a two week ballot process that ended on Tuesday evening 85% of approximately 1,000 workers, many of which are based in Offaly, voted in favour of strike action while 90% voted in favour of industrial action. Bord na Móna has said it's "disappointed" at the outcome of the ballot and has said that funding a 3.5% increase workers say they are due under the Towards 2016 social partnership deal would jeopardise approximately 80 jobs at the company. "I think the ballot was reflective of how we know workers on the ground were feeling," Mr McDonagh said, adding that over the coming days meetings between the company's group of unions will take place to discuss the next step before then serving notice. "We regret that we've had to take this action but feel we have no choice," he said. Mr McDonagh said the Bord na Móna workers affected are from the midlands area, with a sizeable number of them based in Offaly and neighbouring Westmeath. A range of workers are affected he said, including some office staff, supervisors and people working on bogs, in stores and in briquette factories. Mr McDonagh said that they are open to further talks with Bord na Móna, but only if talks can progress towards a resolution. "There's no point saying the things we've already said to each other again," he said. Meanwhile Bord na Móna's position is that the company put forward a "fair and reasonable offer" in the current climate. "In recent months, company representatives have had a series of meetings with the Bord na Móna Group of Unions to discuss the Labour Court ruling and clarification. The company has pointed out in these meetings that in the current unprecedented economic crisis to increase rates of pay by 3.5% would undermine employment in Bord na Móna. It would lead to an unsustainable increase in fixed costs which would need to be funded by reductions in activity. Over the last five years the average number employed at Bord na Móna has increased by some 370. To fund a 3.5% increase in this manner could jeopardise some 80 jobs at the company." The statement said the company outlined a pay for productivity offer to the group of unions last October and since then took part in some 20 hours of conciliation talks at the Labour Relations Court. "We wanted to work together with our employees on a solution that would allow them to share in the success of the company without having to put jobs and businesses at unavoidable risk," the statement read. "With this in mind, the company made a fair and reasonable offer of a lump-sum payment of €800 per employee plus a three percent per annum potential payment, some of which was guaranteed and some of which was dependent on business performance." The statement also said Bord na Móna "remains available" to discuss and clarify the detail of the offer with the group of unions. "We appeal to them to consider the serious financial hardship that would inevitably result from industrial action," it ended.