Meat firm asks workers to commute 90km for new jobs
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A MEAT factory has slashed most of its workforce in a rural town, but offered employees jobs almost 90km from their homes.
Meadow Meats, which is part of the Dawn Group, in Rathdowney, Co Laois, told workers that 100 jobs were to be axed at the plant.
The factory, which employs 150 people, is closing its boning and packing sections.
However, workers were offered redundancy or a position in the company's plant in Grannagh on the Kilkenny/Waterford border. Grannagh is almost 90km from the Co Laois plant.
A statement from the company said the Dawn Meats Group had decided to "amalgamate" the boning work done at its site in Rathdowney with its facility in Grannagh, Co Kilkenny.
"Slaughtering of cattle at Meadow Meats will continue as normal. The company are offering positions for all the Rathdowney operatives in the Grannagh boning facility. Employment on the Grannagh site is expected to exceed 300 by 2011," the statement said.
SIPTU organiser Miriam Hamilton said the 100 workers in the boning hall were affected by the cuts.
Ten people would continue to be employed in the administration, management and canteen areas. She also said the positions of 40 remaining workers in the abattoir were "safe for the time being only".
Ms Hamilton said the decision by the company was not taken out of economic necessity, but as part of an overall restructuring programme. She described the firm's offer of employment in another factory in Grannagh as "disingenuous".
"It's not a commutable distance -- a lot of these workers are on €9 an hour," she said.
"So for €9 an hour, to go 180km every single day, multiply that by five, it's 900km a week; it wouldn't pay them to go all that distance for €9 an hour. Most of these people are from the local community as well and therefore they have roots in the community and they can't move."
Councillor John King, who lives in Rathdowney, said people in the area were "in shock" at the announcement. "It's a sad thing, a lot of these young people have bought houses in the locality. It's going to be very hard on those people if they have to leave the area. It's impossible for those people; if they make a decision to put their house on the market, they won't be able to sell. The dole queues are long enough already.
"Also, we have locals working in catering and in the offices, and farmers were supplying the cattle to the factory, it'll have a massive knock-on effect."
Talks will take place between factory bosses and SIPTU officials today as part of the start of a 30-day consultation process.
- Eimear Ni Bhraonain
